NATO efforts to massively boost artillery ammunition production capacity are progressing, an official said.
According to NATO headquarters in Brussels, the 32 countries in the alliance are on track to produce 2 million 155-millimeter bullets this year.
This is significantly more than in the past and is the result of a rather impressive industrial turnaround, a NATO official said ahead of a meeting of defense ministers this Thursday and Friday.
At the same time, the official admitted that production levels are still too low and ammunition is still too expensive.
For example, according to Western intelligence services, Russia can produce about 3 million artillery shells per year, giving the country an advantage in its war against Ukraine.
The defense industry in NATO countries is not equipped to meet the high demand, which complicates the provision of military aid to Ukraine.
To increase efficiency and reduce costs, standardization must now also be improved.
To this end, NATO member states want to instruct the new NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte to present proposals for the modernization and standardization of defense equipment production during a meeting of defense ministers in February.
This includes, for example, how to integrate the industry even more closely and how to ensure that already agreed standards are actually implemented.