Europe 'cannot supply itself solely,' needs US ties: Ammunition boss – Türkiye Today

Europe ‘cannot supply itself solely,’ needs US ties: Ammunition boss  Türkiye Today

Europe's defense industry must avoid rupturing industrial ties with the United States, as the continent cannot supply all the weapons needed to meet rising demand on its own, the head of one of Europe's largest arms producers has warned. "I see the ramp-up not as just a European effort; it's an Allied effort between all Nato countries, including the U.S.," said Morten Brandtzaeg, chief executive of ammunition producer Nammo, which is part-owned by the Norwegian and Finnish governments. "We should remember that Europe cannot supply itself solely," he told the Financial Times (FT). An integrated transatlantic supply chain Brandtzaeg cited Nammo's role in manufacturing U.S. missiles for F-35 fighter jets as an example of the industry's integrated supply base.

The Norwegian company produces rocket-motor engines that power AMRAAM missiles used by the jets, manufacturing them at its main production hub in Raufoss, Norway, before sending them to the U.S. to be assembled into missiles built by U.S. defense group Raytheon. Those missiles are then delivered to European allies for use with their F-35 jets. "In many areas of the defense industry the supply base between Europe and the U.S. is integrated … I'm not sure that the industry has the time now to really reshuffle these production lines and say, OK, we are going to produce everything in Europe," Brandtzaeg