NATO allies to ramp up weapons production to replenish stockpiles depleted by war

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said this at a press conference ahead of the two-day meeting of NATO Defense Ministers, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

“Allies will take decisions to further strengthen our deterrence and defence… So I expect Allies will agree new guidance for NATO defence planning. This will be a key driver of capability changes. And ensure credible deterrence and defence in the years to come. Ministers will also focus on ways to increase our defence industrial capacity and replenish stockpiles,” he said.

“The war in Ukraine is consuming an enormous amount of munitions, and depleting Allied stockpiles. The current rate of Ukraine’s ammunition expenditure is many times higher than our current rate of production. This puts our defence industries under strain. For example, the waiting time for large-calibre ammunition has increased from 12 to 28 months. Orders placed today would only be delivered two-and-a-half years later. So we need to ramp up production. And invest in our production capacity,” Stoltenberg said.

According to him, NATO has just completed an extraordinary survey of munitions stockpiles and plans to increase them through the NATO Defence Planning Process. He noted that the good news is that several Allies, including the United States and France, have already signed new multi-year contracts with the defence industry, enabling them to invest in increased production capacity.

“I look forward to further progress. This is essential to ensure we can keep supporting Ukraine, while protecting every inch of Allied territory,” Stoltenberg said.

As reported, NATO Defense Ministers will meet in Brussels on February 14-15. The topics of discussion will include the security situation in Ukraine. A meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, hosted by the United States, will also take place at NATO HQ on February 14.  Ukraine’s Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov will participate in the meeting of ministers and in the work of the Contact Group.

Photo: NATO