Europe fights gunpowder shortage to supply shells to defend Ukraine against Russia

Gunpowder is used as a propellant to hurl shells, such as the NATO-standard 155-millimeter shells used in many of the guns sent to Ukraine, over distances of tens of kilometers.

“A simple explosive shell consists of three parts: a steel cartridge, a high explosive main charge, and a detonator,” says Johann Heherl, a munitions expert at the German Military University in Munich. They are usually set to explode on impact.

“Propellant charges are usually separate. [gunners] It can take one or two, up to six or even eight, depending on the scope you need,” he added.

Although the propellant is still called gunpowder, “these days it’s not gunpowder at all, it’s made of sticks or pellets,” Hoschel said.

Putin warns West of risk of nuclear war, says Russia could attack Western targets

In a video on its website, German weapons manufacturer Rheinmetall describes a stackable propellant cylinder filled with explosive pellets that is inserted behind the shell in the breech of a cannon.

Jean-Paul Mauny, deputy director of France’s International Institute for Strategic Relations (IRIS), said the number of gunpowder manufacturers in Europe was very small.

These companies include Eurenco, which has operations in France, Belgium and Sweden, and Nitrochemie, which is majority-owned by Rheinmetall and is based in Germany and Switzerland.

While many countries are pushing to bring production home, France is “in the process of relocating some of Eurenco’s production to Bourges, about 200 kilometers (125 miles) south of Paris,” Moulny said. Told.

“This is one of the bottlenecks for munitions,” he added. “The biggest problem is production volume.”

09:43

Two years after the Ukraine war: disease, displacement, and demands for aid

Two years after the Ukraine war: disease, displacement, and demands for aid

Thierry Breton, the EU’s internal market commissioner, told reporters in Paris on Friday that the region also faces challenges finding raw materials for gunpowder.

“You need a specific type of cotton to make the powder, and most of that cotton comes from China,” he says.

Nitrocellulose, also known as gun cotton, is a key ingredient in gunpowder manufacturing.

“As you know, a few months ago, as if by chance, the supply of this cotton from China stopped,” Breton added.

China and Russia have strengthened economic cooperation and diplomatic contacts in recent years, and their strategic partnership has grown closer since the invasion of Ukraine.

In Russia this week, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong declared that relations were “at the best time in history.”

Strategic ambiguity? Macron’s talks on Ukraine’s military shake NATO allies

Breton said: “The Nordic countries have found an alternative to Chinese cotton… Innovation is working precisely to meet the demand for powder, because… today there is a problem with powder production capacity.”

Breton said companies producing alternative raw materials for gunpowder would be among those selected for grants under the EU’s Ammunition Production Support Act (ASAP), which will be announced next week.

Mr Breton predicted that the EU’s efforts to increase shell production would bring the region’s annual production capacity to between 1.5 million and 1.7 million rounds by the end of this year.

He estimated Russia’s equivalent figure to be “just under 2 million.”

“Everyone is in a position to do larger-scale manufacturing,” says Moulney, the IRIS expert.

“For now, the Ukrainians are short of shells…The Russians are not short because they are getting their stocks from North Korea, but that could happen in the coming months,” he added. .

“No one was prepared for a high-intensity conflict that would consume vast amounts of military equipment. We haven’t seen a war like this since World War II,” Maulney said. said.