Europe faces 50% rise in prices for military gear, Estonia says

European nations are seeing higher prices for defence supplies that have climbed in some cases by more than 50% in the last two years as NATO allies ramp up military spending, Estonian Defence Minister Hanno Pevkur said.“Prices are going up,” Pevkur told an audience at the Lennart Meri security conference in Tallinn on Saturday. “I have discussions with my national armament director constantly.”

“What we see is that when we bought something two years ago, and when we now want to increase these quantities of what we bought — the same thing — then the price has gone up like 50%, 60% for some items,” the minister said.
Also Read: Two members of Colombian right-wing presidential candidate’s campaign killedThe steep rise in prices for weapons and other military equipment complicates NATO’s defence spending plans as Europe comes under pressure to swiftly rearm. It also has to take on the bulk of costs for supplying Ukraine in the face of Russia’s invasion, as the US shifts focus elsewhere.

Pevkur described a chicken-and-egg problem, where countries see a shortage of supply in the market, but the European defence industry isn’t ready to invest more before governments have signed contracts.

Europe doesn’t have time to wait until 2030 to improve military readiness because “the best time to poke NATO” by Russia might come as early as this or next year, the minister said.

“If the industry doesn’t understand that there will be a lot of money on the market, then you are late,” Pevkur said. Spending needs to stay elevated for a long time, he added.