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NATO headquarters in Brussels
Photo: Yves Herman / REUTERS
NATO's procurement agency (NSPA) has concluded framework contracts with companies from Germany and France for the delivery of artillery ammunition worth around 1.1 billion euros.
The 155-millimeter projectiles can be used in Caesar and self-propelled howitzer 2000 weapon systems, as the NSPA announced.
Both are also used by Ukraine in its defensive war against Russia.
According to the information, the companies that received the contracts are the French company Nexter Munitions (KNDS) and the German company Junghans Microtec.
The latter produces detonators for artillery ammunition in Dunningen in Baden-Württemberg.
According to information from alliance circles, the agreement should enable the procurement of more than 220,000 bullets.
The first deliveries will be made in approximately 24 months, according to NSPA Director General Stacy Cummings.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said when the contract was signed that projects like this would be a booster for the defense industry and ensure that the alliance states had the right ammunition.
Since agreeing on an action plan for defense production last July, the NSPA has already concluded contracts worth around ten billion US dollars (9.2 billion euros).
The new contracts serve in particular to replenish stocks that have become smaller due to arms deliveries to Ukraine.
In addition, the basis for continued support for Ukraine should be created.
czl/dpa