The European Defence Agency (EDA) has announced its procurement of 155 mm ammunition for a range of land platforms used by 26 member states and Norway, a non-EU third-party nation included in EDA initiatives.

Signed in Brussels on 5 September, the eight contracts represent closer ties between Europe’s reviving defence industry and the EDA to meet the needs of its member states with more agility.

Previously, the agency found that the reduced stockpiles of its member states have fallen to an unsustainable level for their support for Ukraine, which is waging a gruelling counter-offensive against invading Russian forces, and their own defence interests.

According to a relevant announcement, these eight ammunition contracts follow recent EU legislation, the Act in Support of Ammunition Production (ASAP), in which the Union mobilised €500m to support Europe’s constrained ammunition and missile suppliers.

In fact, last May eighteen EU states signed the related program agreement of the European Defence Agency (EDA) for the collective procurement of munitions.

Also read: EDA | Collaborative Procurement of Ammunition by EU Member-States

To date, the EDA has agreed to multiple framework contracts for the procurement of the 155 mm rounds, also known as all-up-round, for the Panzerhaubitze 2000 howitzer as well as for the projectile and fuse components of ammunition for the Krab howitzer system. The EDA’s approach to boosting ammunition is through a collaborative financial policy in which participating nations jointly pay for the 155 mm ammunition.

In a press release, the EDA outlined its rationale, stating that collaborative procurement is the best option to achieve cost reduction from economies of scale and interoperability, while allowing member states to purchase ammunition according to their national needs or in support of Ukraine.

The joint project opens the way for participating countries to proceed along two paths: a two-year, fast-track procedure for 155 mm artillery rounds and a seven-year project to acquire multiple ammunition types. 

Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Hungary, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Norway have all signed. Denmark, an EU member state, only recently opted to join the EDA on March 23, and is anticipated to join the club. 

To comply with legal obligations and to protect commercially sensitive information, the EDA has not disclosed the names of the contractors nor the unit prices at this stage, and does not comment on ongoing negotiations.

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