The stock has shrunk drastically due to the delivery of material to Ukraine. Bauer believes that the defense industry needs to significantly increase production of equipment and ammunition. He said this at a Warsaw Security Forum, a conference in the Polish capital Warsaw.
Ukraine
Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February last year, NATO countries have donated large amounts of equipment and ammunition to Ukraine. The war has also increased the demand for replenishment of these countries’ own supplies.
Voglens Bauer has moved out of the defense industry to meet this rising demand. That leads to higher prices. According to him, the increased defense spending does not indicate that more has been made or sold, but that less may be bought for more money.
Produce more
According to Bauer, NATO countries will start giving away weapons from their half-filled stockpiles in 2022 and therefore there will come a time when those stockpiles will be completely empty.
That is why more production is needed on a large scale, said the lieutenant admiral, who is the highest-ranking military officer in NATO leadership. As head of the Military Committee, Bauer is, among other things, an advisor to Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and to the North Atlantic Council.