Prakash Nanda
ACQUIRING the most sophisticated military platforms like fighter aircraft and naval carriers may have attracted greater global attention, but much cheaper and elementary war material, like gunpowder, technically described as propellants, is now increasingly becoming ‘hard to find’. Here, China is proving to be a global threat as it monopolises the supply of nitrocellulose, a raw material made from Chinese cotton fibres.
China has reportedly stopped deliveries of cotton to make powder, prompting the leading military powers of the world, including the United States, Russia, and France, to find alternative sources and become selfsufficient. Experts describe propellants as pyrotechnic charges that combine combustible and oxidising substances. This allows them to react without an external supply of oxygen and thereby generate large volumes of combustion gases in a short time. These combustion gases can propel a projectile through the barrel of a pistol, a rifle, an automatic cannon, or a gun. They can also propel ground, air, or sealaunched solid-fuel missiles of both guided and unguided types.
Evident in Ukraine
However, during wars or military drills, artillery accounts for the bulk of propellant consumption. In other words, a shortage of propellants or gunpowder adversely affects a country’s firepower. This hard lesson has been quite evident in the ongoing war in Ukraine. The shortage has badly hamstrung Ukraine’s military campaign.
A study in the United Kingdom by the Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies has estimated that Russian troops fired a total of around 20 million artillery and mortar shells in 2022 and 2023. Because of the supply shortage, the Ukrainian defenders’ ammunition consumption is supposed to have been around a quarter of this.
So much so that, on March 2, at a gathering of Kyiv’s allies in Paris, French President Emmanuel Macron admitted, “We have all become aware of the need to face up to the scarcity of some components, especially gunpowder. Powder is really what’s lacking today.” Amos Dossi, Senior Researcher at the Center for Security Studies (CSS) at ETH Zürich, says that to cover the demand for gunpowder, Ukraine would require around five mediumsized powder factories with an annual capacity of 2,000 tonnes. Ukraine does not possess such a production base and is now even relying on Argentinian manufacturers in addition to European and North American ones. However, neither America nor the European allies themselves are comfortable with their stocks of gunpowder.
Nitrocellulose import
As of today, the US is a net importer of nitrocellulose. That is why Republican members of Congress have announced legislation to prod the Biden Administration to conduct an inventory of the US gunpowder supply chain and offer suggestions to ensure enough will be available for the military and the average consumer (gun users).
Sen. James E. Risch, Idaho Republican, and Rep. Tom Emmer, Minnesota Republican, are leading the effort. As Emmer says, “As threats to our nation’s security evolve, it is more important than ever to take proactive measures to secure our ammunition supply chain. This is not only about enhancing our military readiness but also supporting American manufacturing and ensuring law-abiding Minnesotans and Americans can exercise their Second Amendment rights (Right to Bear Arms)”.
The Bill states that “Congress remains concerned about the domestic supply and production of nitrocellulose” and worries that a supply chain failure “could restrict ammunition manufacturing for large and small calibers, harming the commercial marketplace and placing the warfighters at risk.” Therefore, the legislation would require a report within 180 days on sources of nitrocellulose, nitroglycerin, and acid production, and recommendations for broadening production and preventing supply chain chokepoints.
