November 2025 Volume 7

EQUIPMENT & TECHNOLOGY

This 155mm shell press line, engineered by Macrodyne Technologies, shows what modernization looks like in practice: automated, data-driven and built for the speed and precision today’s defense programs demand.

assuming unacceptable risk, betting the safety of its troops and its future on machines that should have been retired decades ago. The good news is that the tide is finally turning. Across the defense industrial base, we’re seeing a new generation of investment in automation, in precision and in accountability. Programs that once relied on aging equipment are being reborn with state-of-the-art systems, capable of higher throughput, tighter tolerances and real-time data visibility. The results speak for themselves: improved capacity, faster turnaround, and far greater resilience when demand surges. Nowhere is that shift clearer than at UNION Technologies’ Factory of the Future in Texas. Designed from the ground up for automation and scale, the facility will house fully automated press lines capable of producing 60,000 155mm shells per month. Each forging line will take a shell from raw steel bar to finished, painted, and crated product — with billet cutting, heating, forging, drawing, machining, nosing, heat treating, banding, painting, and inspection all integrated into a single, seamless process. Every operation is digitally tracked, every part traceable, and every step optimized for repeatability and speed. For UNION, modernization isn’t optional. It’s existential. “Every time we rely on a plant that ‘still runs,’ we’re betting deterrence on machinery that can’t surge when it matters,” says one UNION representative. “The U.S. arsenal still depends on plants built before World War II. The danger is measured in months of delay, components never delivered, and dwindling stockpiles — of ready factories themselves.”

Old presses need babysitting, constant adjustment and a prayer every time you push the start button. Automated systems? They monitor themselves, predict failures and keep production rolling. And it’s not just about staying online. Automation means every stroke, every cycle, every ton of force is digitally logged and traceable. Modern contracts demand it. If you can’t show the data, you’re not compliant. Then there’s scalability. Wars don’t wait for your maintenance schedule. When the order comes to double shell output or speed up armor plate production, presses with advanced controls and quick-change automation can ramp fast. And that’s something old presses just can’t do. Automation also tackles the workforce crunch. The industry is short on skilled operators and the pipeline isn’t filling fast enough. In fact, more than half of aerospace and defense companies say they struggle to hire skilled tradespeople such as metal workers, assemblers and fabricators. These are very people who keep the presses running properly.9 If your presses can’t track every cycle and deliver repeatable quality at surge scale, you’re not running a defense plant. You’re running a museum piece with national security on the line. Complacency Is the Real Enemy Every day we keep outdated presses on the floor, we build vulnerability into our national defense. A nation that tries to protect itself with antiquated manufacturing equipment is

FIA MAGAZINE | NOVEMBER 2025 18