Europe faces ammunition shortages after supporting Ukraine

European countries are facing a shortage of gunpowder and TNT. This situation has become more urgent as they supplied ammunition to Ukraine during its ongoing conflict with Russia. Many nations have tapped into their limited munitions stockpiles, revealing how low their reserves really are. A factory called Nitrochemie Aschau, located near Munich, Germany, is ramping up production to help. Here, the last steps of making gunpowder look like pasta-making. Workers squeeze fibers through machines, coil them, and cut them into precise pellets. This manual process is necessary because handling large amounts of explosives on a conveyor belt is dangerous. Since Russia invaded Ukraine in early 2022, Nitrochemie Aschau has increased its production capacity by 60%. The factory is also constructing new facilities to boost its output by another 40% by mid-2025. To achieve these goals, it has hired around 300 new workers, many from struggling sectors like automotive and chemicals. This effort aims to meet the growing demand for ammunition in Europe.