FT: Europe faces ammunition supply crisis due to Ukraine conflict

The Financial Times reported on Tuesday that the Ukraine conflict has caused a major munitions supply crisis in Europe, as arms manufacturers seek to replenish states’ national stockpiles and also secure supplies to Kyiv.

According to the FT, record demand for munitions has placed a huge strain on European industrial capacity. It is noted that Ukraine requires more than 5 thousand shells daily, which is comparable to the annual needs of a small European state. Additional pressure on supply chains, as noted in the newspaper, is created by a lack of production capacity and a shortage of critical raw materials, especially since supply chains disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic have not yet been fully restored.

The publication quotes the words of the general director of the Norwegian-Finnish defense company Nammo Morten Brandtseg, who said that the demand for a number of components has grown so much that the time for their delivery to customers has increased from several months to several years. At the same time, many companies, in an attempt to meet demand and reduce the time of production and transportation of ammunition, increased the number of production shifts and hired more personnel.

Suppliers of raw materials and components, according to the newspaper, note that customers require them to produce 200% more of certain materials, which, however, cannot be done in a short time.