NATO plans to announce ammunition standardization at Washington summit
Photo: NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg (Getty Images)
At the summit in Washington, NATO intends to make commitments in the defense industry, urging participants to increase weapons production and return to stricter standardization of ammunition, according to Reuters.
"Ukraine has shown that our standardization was good on paper but not so good in the field," said a NATO official, speaking on condition of anonymity and referring to ammunition such as 155mm artillery shells, which are in short supply around the world.
While NATO has introduced standards for small arms rounds, such as assault rifles, allowing allies to use each other's ammunition, the situation is not as simple for artillery rounds.
Although there is a NATO standard for artillery ammunition, its use is voluntary, and the lack of compliance has fragmented the market and complicated supply.
Fourteen NATO countries have reserved the right to deviate from the standard, which means that there are different types of 155mm ammunition.
According to artillery experts, different shells can still be used in all howitzers, but operators must specify the technical characteristics of the shells when loading them into the gun, otherwise, they may miss the target by as much as 50 or 60 meters.
NATO Summit
Ukraine will be one of the key topics at the NATO anniversary summit which will be held in Washington, DC, on July 9-11.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the meeting would focus on strengthening Ukraine's long-term victory.
According to Reuters, Ukraine may hear good news about the transfer of air defense systems during the meeting.
Read more about Ukraine's expectations from the summit in the material by RBC-Ukraine.
