Panel XIIIa, titled “How Can We Produce More Ammunition in Europe? EU Funds and Partnerships with Ukraine,” moderated by Brigadier General (ret.) Hans Damen, member of the International Advisory Board of the New Strategy Center, brought together Mr. Sergii Goncharov, CEO of the National Association of Ukrainian Defense Industries (NAUDI); Mr. Mykhailo Samus, CEO of First Contact and Director within the New Geopolitics Research Network; Mr. Nico Lange, Senior Fellow at the Munich Security Conference; and Mr. Piotr Małecki, CEO of Defence24. The panel examined the strategic, industrial, and financial challenges associated with rapidly increasing Europe’s ammunition production capacity amid the unprecedented operational demand generated by the war in Ukraine.
The discussions highlighted that European ammunition production faced two simultaneous constraints: the accelerated consumption rate at the front and the structural rigidity of the European industrial ecosystem, historically designed for peacetime manufacturing. Speakers emphasized that the lessons learned from Ukraine—from adapting calibers and modernizing production lines to the need for large stockpiles and resilient supply chains—required a structural rethinking of how Europe plans and finances its military capabilities. Ammunition standardization, diversification of production, integration of Ukrainian-made components, and strengthening storage infrastructure were identified as essential steps toward sustainably scaling production.
Panelists converged on the view that an EU–Ukraine industrial partnership was a central element of the solution: Ukraine offered unique operational experience, a rapid pace of innovation, and industrial capacities capable of complementing the European ecosystem. At the same time, Europe needed to develop dedicated financial instruments—from EU funds to industrial mobilization mechanisms—to sustain production both during the conflict and after regional stabilization. The panel concluded that Europe’s strategic autonomy depends on coordinated investment, industrial flexibility, and the systematic integration of Ukrainian expertise into European ammunition production chains.
