Belgium’s FN Herstal announced on 6 January 2025 the official launch of the Small 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 establish a common standard for small arms ammunition in Europe in order to enhance interoperability and strengthen European strategic autonomy and sovereignty in defence.
During the project’s kick-off meeting, held at FN Herstal’s headquarters in mid-December 2024, representatives from the nine participating countries – Belgium, the Czech Republic, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden and Switzerland – established the project’s governance and laid the groundwork for collaboration.
The key objectives of the SAAT project are as follows: to define the requirements for small arms ammunition effectiveness against current
and 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.
With a budget of EUR 8.3 million, the SAAT project brings together 18 European partners – large manufacturers, SMEs, research institutes and national defence bodies – 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’s Military University of Technology.
“This diverse partnership underscores the commitment of European nations to fostering innovation and collaboration within the military small arms and ammunition sector,” FN Herstal stated in a press release.
Jonas Granberg, Project Officer Ammunition Technology at the European Defence Agency (EDA), stated that the kick-off meeting was “the first step in an ambitious journey to develop innovative ammunition solutions for Europe’s defence forces”. He added that “By bringing together expertise from across Europe, SAAT will deliver practical, effective, and forward-looking solutions that address today’s and tomorrow’s challenges.”
