Saab, one of the most important defense contractors in the European Union, has issued a warning that the Chinese Communist Party not only controls the key materials needed for manufacturing ammunition but also controls the crucial metallic materials needed for building submarines and warships.
Saab’s CEO, Micael Johansson, highlighted in an interview with Politico magazine that Europe relies too heavily on China in the production of ammunition, which could potentially lead to a supply crisis, threatening the security of the European continent.
Saab is a major European weapons manufacturer, producing ground combat weapons, submarines, and missiles. This Swedish company is also one of the few manufacturers in Europe, along with France’s Dassault Aviation, capable of independently producing fighter jets, manufacturing the JAS-39 Gripen fighter jet.
Prior to the Moscow invasion of Ukraine, major European aerospace giants, including Airbus, were heavily reliant on Russia for titanium, a key material in defense industries used in manufacturing military aircraft and submarines.
Johansson noted that while delivery times and prices for certain materials have improved, the European defense industry still faces bottlenecks, particularly in terms of “explosives and nitrocellulose used in making explosives.”
Propellant explosives are made from nitrocellulose and similar materials, with nitrocellulose itself being derived from cotton fiber, a significant portion of which originates from China.
He stated that, “Once China (the CCP) cuts off the supply of nitrocellulose needed for ammunition production in Europe, the risks it brings… will be detrimental.”
US intelligence agencies have suggested that China likely provides nitrocellulose to Russia, bolstering Moscow’s military industrial complex.
In fact, Beijing not only plays a critical role in providing the raw materials needed for the defense industries of EU countries but also offers crucial support in Putin’s war machine crushing Ukraine, benefiting on both ends.
European defense enterprises have been under pressure, as since the outbreak of the conflict in Ukraine, EU countries have been urged to produce weapons and ammunition faster and in larger quantities to support Kyiv and bolster domestic defense.
As Ukraine’s weapon supplies increasingly lag behind Russia’s, Western countries’ failure to deliver sufficient ammunition to Kyiv has influenced the course of the war.
The European Commission anticipates that by early 2026, the EU will produce 2 million rounds of ammunition annually, with a key bottleneck in accelerating production being the lack of propellants and explosives.
Presently, the European Commission is actively strategizing. Nearly half of the 500 million euros in subsidies provided under the Act in Support of Ammunition Production, ASAP by the EU are allocated to projects aimed at enhancing gunpowder production.
Apart from offering subsidies, Brussels is also pushing for another economic security agenda to reduce dependence on Beijing, and thereby “lower” risks within that supply chain.
An anonymous EU official informed Politico that manufacturers of gunpowder in the bloc must achieve source diversification, “either by sourcing new producers to meet this goal, but it entails time to certify the cotton used by these producers for gunpowder production; or invest in new solutions, such as wood pulp fibers, which some producers are already doing, with this work already in progress.”
As early as 2022, Finnish-Norwegian ammunition manufacturer Nammo started researching the use of wood pulp fiber as a substitute for the widely used cotton-based fiber.
Johansson highlighted that Western defense companies should seek diversified sources in the gunpowder raw material supply chain. However, he also warned that over-reliance on China is not restricted to nitrocellulose, therefore, a comprehensive review of environmental regulations is needed to make it easier for European companies to diversify supply chains.
Johansson urged governments to reduce various environmental regulations, making it easier for defense industries to achieve diversification in critical military component supply chains.
The Swedish executive said, “Obtaining environmental approvals for sourcing these materials from regions, including Europe, would take up to 10 years at the most. If we want to change this dependency relationship, we cannot continue on this path.”
责任编辑：李琳#