Poland wants to ramp up its production of 155mm artillery rounds in the hope of ensuring sufficient supplies if Russia attacked NATO, a senior official has told Reuters.
Some NATO officials say the Kremlin might be ready militarily to attack countries that are members of the alliance in five to eight years' time, once it has rebuilt its forces after the war in Ukraine.
Moscow has regularly dismissed Western suggestions that it might consider an attack on NATO.
"Our ambition... is to have the ability to fill up Polish warehouses in parallel to achieving a full, independent capacity to produce ammunition in Poland, within five to eight years," Maciej Idzik, board member of the state-owned Polish Armaments Group, said.
Demand for 155mm artillery rounds has soared in the wake of
the invasion of Ukraine. Allies' supplies for their own defence have been run down as they have rushed shells to Kyiv.
The European Union is seeking to expand the bloc's ammunition production capacity to two million shells annually by the end of 2025 by allocating €500m (£421m) in funding to increase shell supplies to Ukraine and replenish EU stockpiles.
