On Friday, August 23, 2024, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre announced that the Norwegian-Finnish company Nammo has granted the Ukrainian Ministry of Strategic Industries a license to produce 155 mm artillery ammunition, which will be funded by the Norwegian government. The license was granted to an unnamed Ukrainian company.
Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and Minister of Defense Bjørn Arild Gram visited Nammo in Raufoss in January 2024 / Photo: Marita I. Wangberg, Norwegian Ministry of Defense.
“Nammo is proud to share technology and expertise that will help strengthen Ukraine in their defense efforts. Collaboration with the Norwegian authorities has been crucial in making this possible. Significant work has gone into developing and qualifying effective ammunition suitable for mass production, and Nammo has invested time and money in technology and expertise that can now be transferred to Ukraine”, said Nammo CEO, Morten Brandtzæg.
The Norwegian government supports the collaboration and has decided to provide funds to Nammo for the transfer of technology and expertise to the Ukrainian partner. The funds are provided through the program supporting Ukraine called Nansen.
“It is absolutely crucial for Ukraine and for our own security that Norway continues to support Ukraine’s defense efforts. Collaboration with the Ukrainian defense industry is a wise and effective way to support the Ukrainian forces,” says Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide.
In March of this year, the government allowed Norwegian defense industry companies to apply to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for a license to transfer technology to Ukraine. Nammo submitted an application, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs granted them a technology license.
The Ukrainian Minister of Strategic Industries, Oleksandr Kamyshin, wrote on the social media platform X:
“I am grateful to Norway for the license to produce 155 mm shells. Today, the Norwegian government not only granted Nammo permission to transfer technology to a Ukrainian company but also agreed to finance this process.”
Photo: Nammo
Nammo offers a wide range of small, medium, and large-caliber ammunition, including various 155 mm shell variants such as high-explosive, extended-range high-explosive, extended-range high-explosive with insensitive munitions, as well as training rounds. During the Eurosatory 2018 exhibition, the company also presented a proposal for a long-range HE-ExR artillery shell (over 100 km) that is assisted during flight by a ramjet engine.
Regarding the production of 155 mm ammunition in Ukraine, on July 24 of this year, the German group Rheinmetall AG announced that it had received an order from the Ukrainian government valued at over 100 million EUR, or over 120 million USD (described as “low three-digit million-euro range”) for the delivery of technical equipment to build a production line for an ammunition plant within 24 months.
🔵 Norwegian artillery shells to be produced in Ukraine 🟡
The Norwegian Government has decided to support @Nammo ’s technology transfer for 155 mm artillery production in Ukraine. This will mean more modern artillery ammunition for Ukraine🇺🇦#StrongerTogether— Forsvarsdepartement (@Forsvarsdep) August 23, 2024
Grateful to Norway for the license to produce 155 mm shells 🇳🇴
Today the Norwegian government has not only granted @Nammo the permission to transfer the technology to a Ukrainian company, but also agreed to finance this process.https://t.co/rckzcgIaIO
— Alexander Kamyshin (@AKamyshin) August 23, 2024