Belgium and France have announced a new military partnership which consists in the provision of Belgian ammunition to France.
Belgian arms manufacturer FN Herstal will first provide small-calibre ammunition to France. Belgium will then assist its neighbour in setting up production on its own soil so as to prevent a "situation of dependence" on the former.
The agreement marks France's entry into a pre-existing partnership between Belgium and FN Herstal, in operation since November 2023. The company, entirely owned by the Walloon region, will provide ammunition to Belgium over a period of 20 years in a deal worth €1.7 billion.
The agreement has always been open to other European countries and aims to strengthen both Belgian and European autonomy. As it stands, 85% of Belgium's light weapons systems in Belgium comes from foreign exporters. With the added urgency of the war in Ukraine, European countries are looking to bolster domestic arms production.
La France confirme son intention de renforcer la coopération bilatérale avec la firme historique belge dans le domaine de la production de munitions de petit calibre afin de renforcer notre autonomie stratégique. pic.twitter.com/rNdYTljRq4
— Ludivine Dedonder (@DedonderLudivin) May 21, 2024
Translation: France confirms its intention to strengthen bilateral cooperation with the historic Belgian firm in the field of small calibre ammunition production to strengthen our strategic autonomy.
Production companies such as Herstal will not enter into such agreements unless demand continues throughout the entire disclosed period. This would remain the case even if the war in Ukraine were to come to an end before that.
France and Belgium have been linked by another military partnership called 'CaMo' since 2018. Within this framework, Belgium has purchased 382 Griffon armoured transport vehicles and 60 Jaguar armoured reconnaissance vehicles under a €1.6 billion contract with the French government. This recently extended to include the purchase of 28 Caesar guns and 24 additional Griffon vehicles.
