Reference News Network, August 14 report - According to the website of the UK's Financial Times, on August 12, Europe is undergoing a historic military rearmament. Military factories are expanding at three times the speed of peacetime, adding more than 7 million square meters of industrial land.

The Financial Times analyzed radar satellite data from 150 production facilities across 37 companies and found that since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, construction activities in European military factories have accelerated.

Data shows that Europe's long-awaited defense revival is gradually taking shape under the impetus of public subsidies. This is not only reflected in policy statements or spending commitments, but also in actual construction projects.

Through over 1,000 radar satellite scans, the Financial Times tracked changes in ammunition and missile production facilities. Data shows that about one-third of these facilities show signs of expansion or construction activity.

The scale and distribution of detected engineering projects indicate that Europe is experiencing a generational military buildup: shifting from a "just-in-time" production model during peacetime to building an industrial base for a more enduring war state.

William Albeck, senior guest researcher at the Asia-Pacific Forum and former NATO arms control official, said: "These are deep structural changes that will change the defense industry in the medium to long term. Once large-scale production of shells begins, the supply chains for metals and explosives will be activated, which will reduce the cost and complexity of missile production."

The analysis shows that the area of regions showing changes has risen from 790,000 square meters between 2020-2021 to 2.8 million square meters between 2024-2025.

One of the largest expansion sites is a major ammunition and explosive production base being built in the western part of Hungary's Buda Castle, a joint project between Germany's Rheinmetall, a defense giant, and Hungary's state-owned N7 Defense Industry Innovation Company.

The first factory at the site was completed in July 2024, producing 30mm ammunition for Rheinmetall's KF41 "Lynx" infantry fighting vehicle.

Rheinmetall said the construction of the site is ongoing, and it will also produce other types of ammunition, including 155mm shells, 120mm shells for the "Leopard"-2 main battle tank (and possibly the "Black Panther" tank), while also constructing an explosive plant.

The analysis included 88 facilities related to the EU's Ammunition Supply and Production Act (ASAP). The EU has invested 500 million euros in this plan to address bottlenecks in the production of ammunition and missiles.

Among the facilities that received ASAP funding, 20 showed visible physical expansion, including new factories and roads. These changes were mainly concentrated in shell production facilities, reflecting both the priority of ammunition production and the significant space requirements of such factories.

Andrius Kubilius, the EU Commissioner for Defense Issues, told the Financial Times that since the start of the Ukraine war, Europe's annual ammunition capacity has increased from 300,000 rounds to about 2 million by the end of this year.

Rheinmetall stated that its annual production capacity for 155mm shells will increase from 70,000 in 2022 to 1.1 million by 2027.

Other public spending also played an important role. At the headquarters of European Missile Group in Schrobenhausen, Germany, new roads and construction projects are clearly visible. This production base received 10 million euros in ASAP funding and support from two other companies to expand the production of the portable "Law Enforcement" missile.

Increase in other weapon orders has also driven expansion. This factory also secured a 560 million dollar order from NATO to produce 1,000 GEM-T type surface-to-air "Patriot" missiles in Europe.

Bae Systems in the UK received support from the British government and received more orders from the UK Ministry of Defence. Since 2022, the company has invested over 150 million pounds in its UK ammunition factories.

Experts believe that long-range strike capability remains a major weakness for Europe and NATO, with Russia leading its rivals in this area.

Fabian Hoffmann, a researcher at the University of Oslo in Norway, said that missiles are key to effectively deterring Russia's superior ground forces. "But to achieve this, missile production must be significantly expanded," he said.

Hoffmann believes that although the current expansion is commendable, the production of microjet engines for long-range missiles is a major bottleneck in European missile manufacturing. He pointed out that this area may become the next focus of the EU's future spending plans, apart from explosives. (Translated by Wang Dongdong)

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7538278516597457408/

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