Ukraine Needs Shells, and Arms Makers Want Money. Enter the E.U.

The European Union and member states could also help, he suggested, by getting rid of complicating political restrictions like export licenses for arms shipments to Ukraine, which are intended to prevent weapons from falling into the wrong hands, and climate and other regulations on ammunition production. It could push bankers to invest in arms plants, which some banks boycott under pressure from stockholders, some of whom do not want to profit from weapons.

And NATO could ease certification regulations on the use of certain shells for certain guns. For example, he said, it is against German law to fire uncertified shells from German howitzers. These regulations are designed for safety, but they can also benefit manufacturers that produce shells to sell for guns they also make, similar to printer cartridges for particular printers.

Camille Grand, a former NATO assistant secretary general for defense investment, said that NATO estimated that 80 percent of 155-millimeter shells could be fired from any Western gun, despite restrictive certifications.

Ramping up production by 50 percent would be easy, he said, with more worker shifts, even if there are sometimes supply problems for key ingredients. But to increase production by 300 percent would require huge investments for new plants.

Delivering ammunition, especially 155-millimeter shells, “is the most urgent issue,” Mr. Borrell told E.U. foreign ministers late last month. “If we fail on that, the result of the war is in danger.”

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/08/world/europe/ukraine-eu-shells-ammunition.html