The European Commission allocated €500 million for ammunition production. This will enable the European defence industry to increase its ammunition production capacity to 2 million shells per year by the end of 2025.
The European Commission allocated funds for ammunition
With the support of ASAP, Europe is expected to reach an annual production volume of 2 million units by the end of 2025.
It is noted that the European Commission completed the ASAP assessment in record time and selected 31 projects designed to help European industry increase ammunition production and readiness.
The selected projects cover five areas: explosives, gunpowder, projectiles, missiles, and test and recovery certification.
Project financing will amount to €513 million from the EU and Norway budgets.
This financing will make it possible to attract additional investments from the industry through co-financing, as a result of which the total volume of investments in the supply chain will be about €1.4 billion, the statemets says.
Grant agreements with selected applicants are expected to be signed in May 2024.
What is known about the Czech initiative to purchase ammunition for Ukraine
At the Munich conference in mid-February, Czech President Petr Pavel announced that his country had found 800,000 shells ready for purchase outside the European Union.
So far, we have found half a million 155 mm shells and 300,000 122 mm shells, which we can send (to Ukraine) in a few weeks if we have the necessary funds.
The initiative will cost $1.5 billion.
About fifteen countries have already supported "Czechia's plan": Belgium and the Netherlands have promised to allocate €200 million and €100 million, respectively. France, Latvia, Germany, Canada, and Norway have also publicly joined the initiative.
On March 7, Pavel stated that the Czech Republic had collected the necessary funds to purchase 800,000 shells for Ukraine.
