NATO Has a Munitions Problem, and Europe Needs to Step Up

February 1, 2024 DefenseNews
By: Katherine Kjellström Elgin and Tyler Hacker
Related Experts: Katherine E. Dahlstrand, Tyler Hacker

NATO has a munitions problem: the European defense industry has at least three competing needs—supplying weapons to Ukraine, refilling stockpiles, and building up larger inventories of weapons for the future. It is time for European NATO members to acknowledge the true scale of their weapon requirements and adopt a strategic approach to meeting them in the near and long term.

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Understanding NATO’s Concept for Deterrence and Defense of the Euro-Atlantic Area

May 20, 2024 Katherine E. Dahlstrand, Sean Monaghan, Sara Bjerg Moller

NATO, the largest and most powerful military alliance in history, turned seventy-five in April. In July, the leaders of NATO will return to the city where its founding document, the Washington Treaty, was signed in 1949. Most people have heard of NATO. Fewer know its most important document is the Strategic Concept, which is updated every decade or so, and sets the Alliance’s strategy. An even smaller group know about NATO’s “Concept for Deterrence and Defence of the Euro-Atlantic Area.”

Beyond Precision: Maintaining America’s Strike Advantage in Great Power Conflict

The United States' (U.S.) provision of weapons to Ukraine over the last year has raised critical questions about the overall supply of Western munitions and the ability of the weapon industrial base to meet the munitions demands of contemporary conflict. Although war in Ukraine has focused the world’s attention on the munitions issue, a survey of previous U.S. strike operations reveals that the U.S. has struggled to meet PGM demands in nearly every major campaign undertaken since their adoption. Looking to the future, simply producing and procuring more PGMs may not be enough to satisfy the requirements of a near-term great power conflict given current fiscal, industrial, and political constraints.

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NATO Has a Munitions Problem, and Europe Needs to Step Up

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Understanding NATO’s Concept for Deterrence and Defense of the Euro-Atlantic Area

Beyond Precision: Maintaining America’s Strike Advantage in Great Power Conflict