Europe is too dependent on China for munitions and risks facing a supply crisis that could threaten the continent's security, one of the EU's most important defense contractors has said , Saab CEO Mikael Johansson.
This is reported by Politico.
Johansson called on governments to lower environmental regulations to make it easier for companies to diversify supply chains of critical military components.
The article states that Beijing plays a key role in supplying EU countries with raw materials needed for their defense industries, although China also provides important support to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin's war machine.
In Johansson's opinion, when it is about the supply of ingredients for gunpowder — fuel used for firing projectiles, — Western defense companies should seek to diversify sources.
Johansson said that the European defense industry continues to face bottlenecks, especially with gunpowder and nitrocellulose for gunpowder.
"The risk that China will cut off supplies of nitrocellulose for the production of gunpowder in Europe… will be disastrous», — he said.
The article says that since the war in Ukraine started, European defense companies are forced to produce more weapons and munitions and faster — both to support Kyiv and to strengthen internal defense. Since Ukraine is increasingly inferior to Russia in armaments, the inability of the West to send Kiev sufficient ammunition is already determining the outcome of the war. By the beginning of 2026, according to the forecasts of the European Commission, the bloc will produce 2 million projectiles per year. But one of the main obstacles to accelerating production is the lack of metal and explosive powder.