At the NATO summit to be held in Washington next week, they are to agree on the standardization of artillery ammunition.

Reuters reports this with reference to an unnamed NATO official.

According to the publication, NATO intends to announce commitments to the defense industry for the first time, urging countries to increase arms production and adhere to stricter standardization of ammunition to make them interchangeable on the battlefield.

It is noted that the North Atlantic Alliance enforced standards for ammunition for small arms such as assault rifles. This allows NATO members to use each other’s ammunition. However, artillery ammunition is not so simple.

The use of the existing NATO standard for artillery ammunition is voluntary, and the lack of compliance has fragmented the market and complicated supply.

Fourteen NATO countries have reserved the right to deviate from the standard, which means that there are different types of 155-mm ammunition, Reuters reports.

“The war in Ukraine has shown that our standardization was good on paper, but not so good on the battlefield,” a NATO official said, referring to 155-mm shells.

It is noted that different artillery ammunition of the same caliber could be used in all howitzers, but the crew must’ve specified the specification of the shells when loading them into the gun before firing, otherwise they might miss the target by tens of meters.

The technical specifications of the shells are listed in tables used by the artillery system’s maintenance staff, but officials say that companies sometimes do not provide all the necessary data. So NATO wants to change this situation and is looking for more common standards.

“A world in which there is one standardized NATO ammunition, where all Allies produce the same ammunition, would be much easier for military commanders,” the NATO official said.

However, the publication notes that NATO may face opposition from ammunition manufacturers, as such a move could increase competition and lower prices.

Recently, European artillery shell producers have called on the European Union to increase funding to expand their production base.