Europe is preparing for war: weapons production has reached record levels
12 August 2025 14:04
The European defense industry is expanding at an unprecedented pace, with construction at arms factories going three times faster than in peacetime, covering more than 7 million square meters of new production space. This is stated in an article by the Financial Times, according to "Komersant Ukrainian".
The newspaper’s analysis of more than a thousand passes by Sentinel-1 satellites revealed an active expansion of a third of the 150 facilities related to the production of ammunition and missiles. These are key bottlenecks in supporting Ukraine and restoring the EU’s own stockpiles.
The area of detected construction changes increased from 790 thousand square meters in 2020-2021 to 2.8 million square meters in 2024-2025. Satellite imagery confirms that these are not cosmetic changes, but large-scale construction of new workshops, roads, and factory complexes.
Among the largest projects is a joint venture between Germany’s Rheinmetall and Hungary’s N7 Holding in Verpalot (Hungary), where a 30-mm ammunition plant is already operating, and by 2027 it is planned to produce 1.1 million 155-mm shells per year.
The EU’s €500 million ASAP (Act in Support of Ammunition Production) program, aimed at eliminating bottlenecks in the production of shells and missiles, plays an important role in the expansion. Facilities that have received ASAP funding are expanding faster than those that have not.
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MBDA’s plant in Schrobenhausen, Germany, has launched production of Enforcer man-portable missiles and Patriot components with €10 million from ASAP and NATO. Norway’s Kongsberg opened a new missile plant with €10 million, and the UK’s BAE Systems invested £150 million to modernize its ammunition production, including 155-mm shells.
In general, according to European Commissioner for Defense Andrius Kubilius, Europe’s annual ammunition production capacity has increased from 300,000 in 2022 to about 2 million by the end of 2024. However, actual production is still lagging behind potential.
Manufacturers are calling for new programs like ASAP to expand production of not only shells but also missiles, air defense systems, and drones. A representative of Nammo, which received €55 million to produce shells and explosives, emphasized the critical shortage of precision weapons.
Experts warn that although the growth rate is impressive, Europe and NATO are lagging behind Russia in terms of their ability to wage a protracted war. The key bottlenecks remain the production of miniature jet engines for long-range missiles and powerful explosives.
“In order to create a convincing deterrent effect against Russia, we need to dramatically increase production. We must be sure that if we are attacked, we will respond just as strongly,”
– emphasizes researcher Fabian Hoffman from the University of Oslo.
Thus, for the first time in decades, Europe is moving from limited peaceful production to building a powerful and sustainable defense base. This process is already changing the continent’s industrial landscape and may determine its ability to respond to threats in the coming decades.
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