The European Commission today allocated 500 million euros to increase the production of ammunition to 2 million per year under the ASAP law , which aims to deliver ammunition and, if necessary, missiles to Ukraine, as well as help the EU replenish its stockpile, and provides for a total of 2 billion euros to strengthen the EU defense industry, the European institution said on Friday, UNN reported.
Details
"Today, the European Commission has allocated 500 million euros under the Ammunition Support Act (ASAP). This will allow the European defense industry to increase its ammunition production capacity to 2 million rounds per year by the end of 2025," the EC said.
As noted, the European Commission also launched the Work Program of the Instrument for Strengthening the European Defense Industry through Common Procurement (EDIRPA) and the fourth annual Work Program of the European Defense Fund (EDF).
"The total budget of these programs is almost 2 billion euros. Today's steps to strengthen Europe's defense technology and industrial base follow the adoption of the first-ever European Defense Industrial Strategy (EDIS) and the related proposal for a European Defense Industry Program (EDIP)," the EC said.
500 million euros are allocated to increase ammunition production capacity to 2 million per year. "With the support of ASAP, Europe is expected to reach an annual production capacity of 2 million shells by the end of 2025," the report says.
As noted, the European Commission has selected 31 projects to help European industry increase ammunition production and readiness.
The selected projects, as indicated, cover five areas: explosives, gunpowder, projectiles, missiles, and test and recovery certification.
"The projects will be financed by EUR 513 million from the EU and Norwegian budgets. This funding will allow attracting additional investments from industry through co-financing, bringing the total investment in the supply chain to about 1.4 billion euros," the European institution said.
It is noted that ASAP pays special attention to gunpowder and explosives, "which are bottlenecks in the production of ammunition shells," and "will allocate about three quarters of the program to them." "The program will support projects that increase annual production capacity by more than 10,000 tons of powder and more than 4,300 tons of explosives. To this end, the Union will invest 248 million euros in powder production capacity and 124 million euros in explosives production capacity," the statement said.
"Thanks to the measures already taken, the annual capacity of European production of 155-mm shells reached 1 million per year in January 2024," the EC added.
"Grant agreements with the selected applicants are expected to be signed in May 2024," the European Commission said.
It is also stated that 310 million euros will be used to incentivize Member States to jointly provide defense capabilities. "With the adoption of EDIRPA and the launch of the relevant proposals, the Commission is for the first time encouraging Member States to jointly purchase defense products that meet the most urgent and critical needs, especially those exacerbated by Russia's aggression against Ukraine," the statement said.
The EDIRPA work program, with a total budget of €310 million, will support joint procurement in three areas: 1) ammunition (e.g. small arms, artillery ammunition, mortars, missiles), 2) air and missile defense, and 3) platforms and replacement of obsolete systems (e.g. tanks, armored vehicles, support systems, soldier systems, drones). These funding priorities were set in consultation with member states to address immediate defense needs and replenish defense stockpiles.
The deadline for submitting proposals is July 25, 2024.
1.1 billion euros will be used to support EU defense research and development projects. To this end, the European Commission has adopted the fourth annual work program of the European Defense Fund (EDF) and launched relevant calls for proposals, allocating an additional €1.1 billion, including €225 million to support innovation and defense start-ups through special measures under the EU Defense Innovation Scheme (EUDIS).
EDF's 2024 work program, covering 32 topics, will fund projects in critical defense areas, including countering hypersonic missiles, developing a range of unmanned vehicles in the air and on the ground, and ensuring secure space communications. It is preparing the ground for next-generation defense systems such as helicopters and medium-sized cargo aircraft.
The deadline for submitting proposals is November 5, 2024.
For reference
The Ammunition Production Support Act (ASAP) is a direct response to the EU Council's call for urgent delivery of ammunition and, if necessary, missiles to Ukraine, as well as to help EU member states replenish their stockpiles through targeted measures. The law is aimed at enabling the EU to increase its ammunition production capacity.