NATO secretary-general says alliance is making more ammo than Russia, reversing long-standing trend

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte says the alliance has reversed its “ammo gap” with Russia. 

In late July, Mr. Rutte warned that Russian factories were churning out three times as much ammunition in as many months as the alliance was producing in a year.

But since then, NATO has reversed the disadvantage with Moscow, Mr. Rutte said this week at the NATO-Industry Forum in Bucharest, Romania.

Even when the alliance was trailing Russia in the number of bullets and bombs it made, NATO always had the edge in the quality of its weapons.

“But we needed more, and we needed it fast. That means increasing production and shortening delivery times,” Mr. Rutte said Thursday. “Across the alliance, we are now opening dozens of new production lines and expanding existing ones.”

He said NATO is making more ammunition now than it has in decades, but the work is far from over.

“We need to build on this progress in other areas, from high-end air defense to low-cost drone interceptors,” Mr. Rutte said. “Here, quantity is key.”

He stressed that a robust defense industry is a crucial element of a strong NATO alliance. The member states have agreed to spend 5% of their GDP on defense by 2035.

“That’s serious spending, but it is what we need to stay safe,” Mr. Rutte said. “As part of this, leaders agreed to buy more defense capabilities, including jets, tanks, and ships, but also drones, ammunition, cyber, and space capabilities.”

He pointed to Russia’s full-scale invasion of neighboring Ukraine in February 2022 as the most obvious example of the threat NATO is facing. The danger won’t end even after the current war does, because Russia will remain a destabilizing force in Europe and the world for the “foreseeable future,” Mr. Rutte said.

“Russia is not alone in its efforts to undermine the global rules. It is working with China, with North Korea, with Iran, and others. They are increasing their defense industrial collaboration to unprecedented levels,” he said. “They are preparing for long-term confrontation. We cannot be naive. We must be prepared.”