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La Agencia de Defensa Europea (EDA) ha lanzado un proyecto denominado \u201cSmall Arms Ammunition Technologies\u201d (SAAT) a fin de estandarizar la munici\u00f3n de armas port\u00e1tiles entre los pa\u00edses de la comunidad europea. El proyecto es liderado por la empresa belga FN-Herstal y participan del consorcio 18 empresas, instituciones y organismos de 9 pa\u00edses. El objetivo es determinar y establecer est\u00e1ndares comunes para estas municiones, a fin de garantizar la interoperabilidad y robustecer las capacidades de la base industrial de defensa regional, que permitan garantizar la autonom\u00eda estrat\u00e9gica de los pa\u00edses aliados. Se considera que la revisi\u00f3n citada, ha surgido como consecuencia de la reciente adopci\u00f3n por parte de EEUU, de un nuevo cartucho para sus fusiles de asalto en calibre 6.81x51mm, que reemplaza al 5.56mm estandarizado NATO y en uso actualmente por los\u00a0 pa\u00edses europeos.<\/p>\n
Belgium\u2019s FN Herstal announced on 6 January 2025 the official launch of the\u00a0Small Arms Ammunition Technologies (SAAT) project. The four-year initiative, co-ordinated by FN Herstal and conducted by a European consortium consisting of defence companies, research organisations, and the defence ministries of nine countries, aims to\u00a0establish a common standard for small arms ammunition in Europe in order to enhance interoperability and strengthen European strategic autonomy and sovereignty in defence.<\/p>\n
During the project\u2019s kick-off meeting, held at FN Herstal\u2019s headquarters in mid-December 2024, representatives from the nine participating countries \u2013 Belgium, the Czech Republic, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden and Switzerland \u2013 established the project\u2019s governance and laid the groundwork for collaboration.<\/p>\n
The key objectives of the SAAT project are as follows: to define the requirements for small arms ammunition effectiveness against current
\nand future threats; to define the state of the art in small arms ammunition technologies regarding projectile, propellant, cartridge case and interaction with the weapon; to develop an optimised prototype of a small arms projectile; and to contribute to the optimisation of ammunition component technologies.<\/p>\n
With a budget of EUR 8.3 million, the SAAT project brings together 18 European partners \u2013 large manufacturers, SMEs, research institutes and national defence bodies \u2013 all of whom bring leading expertise in their respective fields. The industry participants are Beretta (Italy), CZUB (Czech Republic), Eurenco (Belgium and Sweden), Fiocchi Munizioni (Italy), FN Herstal (Belgium, acting as project co-ordinator), Mesko (Poland), Nammo (Norway and Sweden), Nobel Sport (France) and Swiss P Defence (Switzerland). Regarding research organisations, the consortium includes Armasuisse (Switzerland), DGA Techniques Terrestres (France), FFI (Norway), FOI (Sweden), the Royal Military Academy of Belgium, TNO (The Netherlands) and Poland\u2019s Military University of Technology.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis diverse partnership underscores the commitment of European nations to fostering innovation and collaboration within the military small arms and ammunition sector,\u201d FN Herstal stated in a press release.<\/p>\n
Jonas Granberg, Project Officer Ammunition Technology at the European Defence Agency (EDA), stated that the kick-off meeting was \u201cthe first step in an ambitious journey to develop innovative ammunition solutions for Europe\u2019s defence forces\u201d. He added that \u201cBy bringing together expertise from across Europe, SAAT will deliver practical, effective, and forward-looking solutions that address today\u2019s and tomorrow\u2019s challenges.\u201d<\/p>\n