At the upcoming Washington summit, NATO is poised to issue its first defense industrial pledge, urging member countries to boost arms production and enforce stricter ammunition standardization for improved battlefield interoperability.
“Ukraine has shown that our standardization was good on paper but not so good in the field,” a NATO official stated, highlighting the global shortage of 155mm artillery rounds exacerbated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
While NATO enforces small arms ammunition standards, standardizing artillery shells has been challenging. Though a NATO standard for artillery ammunition exists, its voluntary implementation has led to a fragmented market and disrupted supplies. Fourteen NATO nations have deviated from the standard, creating different types of 155mm ammunition.
These different rounds can be used in all howitzers, but operators must input shell specifications to avoid significant targeting errors, as per artillery experts. The specifications are listed in tables that operators use, but officials note that companies sometimes fail to provide all necessary data. NATO aims to change this by enforcing more common standards, which would simplify these tables.
“A world in which there was one standardized NATO round, where every ally produced the same thing, would be a much simpler world for military commanders,” the NATO official explained. “It would ensure complete interoperability and efficient use of munitions.”
NATO may encounter resistance from munitions manufacturers, as increased standardization could heighten competition and lower prices.
To enhance arms production, especially for critical ammunition like artillery shells and air defense missiles, NATO leaders will commit to annual reporting on their defense targets and production plans, the official added.
Western nations have been scrambling to replenish their stocks, neglected since the Cold War, while also supplying Ukraine with essential weapons. NATO allies have significantly ramped up ammunition production since 2022, increasing from a few hundred thousand artillery shells pre-war to about two million this year, with projections of three million by 2025, according to the official.
