NATO wants to increase ammunition production due to rising prices and high demand
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The sharp rise in ammunition prices means an increase in defense spending, which does not automatically increase the security of NATO countries, Dutch Admiral Rob Bauer, the chairman of NATO's military committee, said on Sept. 16, Reuters reports.
Bauer called for increased private investment in defense companies.
"Prices for equipment and ammunition are shooting up," Bauer said.
"Right now, we are paying more and more for exactly the same. That means that we cannot make sure that the increased defense spending actually leads to more security."
Read also: Ukraine uses more ammunition every day than France does in a year – and Russia uses more
The news agency notes that Russia's war against Ukraine has led to an increase in demand for weapons: allies are rushing to supply Ukraine and build up their own stockpiles. To meet this demand, NATO proposes to increase defense production.
One of the main problems is the shortage of 155-mm artillery rounds, of which Kyiv uses up to 10,000 per day.
In February, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg warned that Ukraine was “burning through shells” much faster than the West could produce them.
Read also: EU to allocate EUR 500 million to ammunition production
Bauer called for increased private investment in the defense sector to ramp up production capacity, Reuters writes.
He also urged pension funds and banks to stop calling investments in the defense sector unethical, as long-term stability is more important than short-term profits.
"As we have seen in Ukraine, war is a whole of society event," said the admiral.
Read also: Ukrainian army uses up to 7,000 artillery shells daily, NATO Secretary General says
He noted that such investments are also in the strategic interests of the private sector and again cited the example of Ukraine, where, according to him, "forty percent of the (Ukrainian) economy evaporated in the first days of the war — that was private money to a large extent, (and) that money is gone."
Bauer also called on the heads of military enterprises to speed up the increase in production capacity.
Earlier, on Sept. 7, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said that Germany plans to triple its spending on ammunition in 2024. The government wants to replenish its stockpiles after supplying shells to Ukraine.
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