Norway pledges 5 billion NOK for Ukraine's artillery needs
Norway will allocate 5 billion Norwegian kroner to support Ukraine in the field of artillery ammunition. Most of the funds will go to a Czech-led ammunition initiative, with the rest aimed at enhancing European production capacity. Here's an overview of how the money will be spent.
Norway has committed to providing 5 billion NOK to support Ukraine in artillery ammunition. Of this amount, 4 billion NOK will go to the initiative led by the Czech Republic, and 1 billion NOK to the European Peace Facility (EPF). Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre emphasised that Ukraine requires constant ammunition supplies to continue its fight for freedom against the Russian invasion.
Support for Ukraine will be up for discussion during Prime Minister Støre's meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Brussels. The new allocation is part of a joint financial initiative led by the EU. Norway has previously supported the Czech initiative, and the current funds are intended to increase the quantity and predictability of ammunition supplies in 2025.
The new allocation is part of the recently announced increase in Norwegian support for Ukraine by 50 billion NOK for 2025. The increase in support aligns with the agreement reached between all political parties in the Storting and the Norwegian government in March of this year.
Artillery shells — the primary weapon in Ukraine
Artillery continues to be the god of war in Ukraine, now augmented by drones and significantly faster reaction times due to the live information relay within C4I communication systems.
However, the primary weapon remains the mass-produced shells, whose design has not changed for decades. There are indeed advanced solutions that independently search for targets and guide themselves, like Bonus or SMArt 155, but they make up only a fraction of the thousands of shells used daily.
Production and performance of budget artillery shells
Structurally, ordinary artillery shells are essentially a cast shell with a thread on the tip, which is then filled with molten TNT or another explosive material. In the end, they are painted and packed on pallets with fuses held separately.
These screw-in fuses are usually a straightforward impact construction meant to trigger an explosion upon hitting the ground, but there's also more advanced options that cause an explosion even in the air, significantly increasing the impact area. There are even modules like M1156A1 PGK that convert ordinary shells into guided ones at much lower cost compared to shells like M982 Excalibur or Vulcano GLR.
The popular and widely licensed M107 155 mm shell contains 6.6 kg of TNT, and newer solutions like the DM121 can contain 9-10 kg of TNT or similar explosive material. These allow targeting up to distances of approximately 22 km for artillery systems with barrels 39 calibres long (M109) or up to 30-32 km for guns with barrels 52 calibres long (DITA or Krab).
Furthermore, slightly more expensive shells equipped with a base burner, which generates gases to reduce base drag during the shell's flight, have an increased range by 30%.
