Libertarian Institute: Rising Ammunition Prices Could Interfere with Western Plans to Arm Ukraine
A top NATO official warned that rising ammunition prices could mean that Western countries do not spend enough on the military to sufficiently arm Ukraine. Washington and its allies have pledged nearly $100 billion in weapons to Kiev since the Russian invasion last year.
On Saturday, the chair of NATO’s military committee, Dutch Admiral Rob Bauer said alliance members need to spend more on defense to account for the rising prices. “Prices for equipment and ammunition are shooting up. Right now, we are paying more and more for exactly the same,” he said. “That means that we cannot make sure that the increased defense spending actually leads to more security.”
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WNU Editor: The New York Times reported on the increasing cost of Western ammunition last week .... Russia Overcomes Sanctions to Expand Missile Production, Officials Say (September 13, 2023). The key line ....
.... it costs a Western country $5,000 to $6,000 to make a 155-millimeter artillery round, whereas it costs Russia about $600 to produce a comparable 152-millimeter artillery shell.
Since that NYT publication a number of military blogs and main stream news stories have been reporting on the high cost of armaments, including the above post from the Libertarian Institute. No one is saying "war profiting", but this is "war profiting".
One final note. As I said last week. You cannot win a war if the economies and cost of production favors your opponent.