NATO defense ministers meeting in Brussels on Thursday and Friday will task the new secretary general, Mark Rutte, with presenting proposals on how to modernize the entire standardization process, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
“We’ve made some progress, but now we’re really going to put in rocket boosters,” he said, adding that battle-deciding ammunition would be a priority before moving on to other equipment.
Senior military officials have deplored NATO’s decline in standardization in recent decades, attributing it to a defense market that has shrunk dramatically since the end of the Cold War, when NATO countries spent between 3 % and 6% of GDP in the army.
Western nations have been scrambling to ramp up production of battle-critical munitions such as artillery shells, while Ukraine, which sometimes fires thousands of rounds a day, has been consuming supplies much faster than its allies can produce them.
Although there is a NATO standard for artillery ammunition, its implementation is voluntary and lack of compliance has fragmented the market and hampered the flow of supplies, as 14 NATO nations have reserved the right to deviate.
The various 155 mm shells can still be used in all howitzers, but operators must enter shell specifications when loading them into the weapon or risk missing targets by up to 50 or 60 meters (160 to 196 ft), according to artillery experts. .
But firing tables, documents intended to provide technical specifications, were neglected for a long period. NATO says it is now close to solving that problem.
“Those shooting tables have been lying fallow for quite some time. “We are close to completing them for the first time since the Cold War,” the official said, calling it an important step toward greater interoperability between the allies.
Beyond Rutte’s initiative, around 10 allies, including Britain, Germany and the United States, will sign a letter of intent on Thursday to push for standardization of artillery munitions in particular, the NATO official said.
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