NATO–EU Strategic Priority: Defence Industrial Base & Munitions Readiness

About this report

The emergence of large-scale war in Europe has redefined the strategic centrality of industrial capacity as a determining factor of deterrence credibility. The conflict in Ukraine demonstrated that high-intensity operations cannot be sustained without deep reserves of ammunition, explosives, propellants and missile components, exposing the gap between Russian wartime production and the far more limited European output.

This imbalance carries structural implications for alliance security, because deterrence depends not solely on advanced platforms but on the ability to replace them and maintain operational tempo under pressure.

Key questions this report answers

• Why has industrial capacity for ammunition, explosives, propellants and missile components become central to deterrence credibility?
• What tactical and capability requirements does sustained high-intensity operation impose, as demonstrated in Ukraine?
• What administrative, regulatory and industrial steps are needed to close the gap with Russian wartime output?
• What structural bottlenecks and dependencies affect companies, technologies, research and capital in munitions readiness?

Inside this report

• Operational Dimension and Multidomain Architecture
• Tactical and Capability Requirements
• Administrative, Regulatory and Industrial Implementation
• Structural Bottlenecks and Strategic Dependencies
• Implications for Companies, Technologies, Research and Capital

Who it's for

Strategy, corporate-development and investment teams that need an ecosystem-level view — budgets, industrial capacity and technology landscapes — before committing capital or capacity.

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• The TNT Chokepoint: Europe’s Dependence on a Narrow Explosives Base for Artillery Ammunition Production
• Affordable Interceptors and the Economics of Mass Deterrence: Industrial Models for Low-Cost Air Defence in Europe
• Europe’s Solid Rocket Motor Industry: Structural Constraints and Strategic Consequences
• The New Economics of Scalable Ammunition Production
• Critical Supply-Chain Resilience (Operational Priorities)

Methodology, format & delivery

DFM reports are built from primary and official sources — TED procurement notices, CORDIS and the EU Funding & Tenders Portal, EIB operations, the NATO Innovation Fund portfolio, SIPRI data, official budget documents and company disclosures — read together with the underlying legal texts. Sources are cited in the document; it reflects them as of its publication date (29 November 2025). You receive a 12-page PDF, watermarked to you on every page, delivered on the confirmation page and by e-mail immediately after checkout (personal link valid 72 hours, up to 5 downloads). Guest checkout, single-user licence — Terms of Sale.

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