European arms manufacturers are actively expanding their capacities. According to The Financial Times, the area under construction for new arms factories has increased from 790 thousand sq m in 2020-21 to 2.8 million sq m in 2024-25. And the expansion process has become three times faster than before. This happened against the backdrop of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The publication analyzed more than a thousand radar satellite images covering 150 facilities of 37 weapons manufacturers. The data came from the Sentinel-1 satellites operated by the European Space Agency.
One of the new facilities in this expansion is a joint project between German defense giant Rheinmetall and Hungarian state-owned defense company N7 Holding. It is a huge ammunition and explosives production site in Varpalot in western Hungary. Construction there was completed in July 2024. The facility produces 30mm ammunition for the Rheinmetall KF41 Lynx infantry fighting vehicle.
In addition, the facility also produces other types of ammunition. These include 155 mm artillery shells and 120 mm ammunition for the Leopard 2 tank and possibly for the Panther. It is also planned to launch the production of explosives there.
The publication also analyzed images of 88 facilities related to the EU's Ammunition Support Act (ASAP) program, which received investments of 500 million euros. 20 of them recorded the construction of new factories and roads. 14 facilities showed minor expansions, such as the construction of new parking lots. The remaining facilities either did not expand or were office and research buildings.
But there was less or no activity at sites that did not receive ASAP funding, such as the BAE Systems factory in northern England. It is worth noting that the factory building there was reused, so satellites may not have seen any changes.
Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braže said the enlargement was "a very positive and much-needed step", adding that it was "crucial" that the defence industry was ready to meet NATO's growing spending and use taxpayers' money "effectively".
EU Defense Commissioner Andrius Kubilius told the media that since the Russian invasion, Europe's annual ammunition production capacity has increased from 300,000 to about 2 million by the end of this year. And Rheinmetall said the company's annual production capacity for 155mm rounds would increase from 70,000 in 2022 to 1.1 million in 2027.
At the same time, Europe gives priority to shells and missiles, but the situation with drones does not look so good. Recall that the EU is still short of military drones, although about 40% of the world's UAV manufacturers are located in Europe. And after the war began, the EU allocated 200 million euros for the development and production of drones "of all sizes and tasks." However, this is not enough yet.