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German automotive and arms manufacturer Rheinmetall will supply tens of thousands of 155mm artillery rounds to Ukraine in a large-volume order worth US$154 million.
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The Düsseldorf-based tech enterprise has been tasked with supplying Kyiv with artillery rounds worth around €142 million, with delivery slated for 2025.
The order encompasses tens of thousands of complete 155mm artillery shells, including the projectile, fuse (for the explosive charge), propellant and primer (for igniting the propellant).
The shells will be produced by Rheinmetall Expal Munitions, the group’s newly acquired Spanish subsidiary, and Rheinmetall Expal Munitions plants in Spain, for a NATO partner nation whose declared intention is to support Ukraine in its defensive struggle with effective long-term military aid.
“The current contract highlights Rheinmetall’s role as the world’s largest producer of ammunition, especially in the large calibre domain,” according to a public statement published by the company.
“Production and delivery of around 40,000 rounds for Ukraine from an earlier order is already due to take place in 2024.
“As recently as mid-October 2023, the German government placed an order in the mid-three-digit million-euro range with Rheinmetall for over 100,000 rounds of 155mm ammunition earmarked for Ukraine, from Rheinmetall Expal Munitions, as well as additional DM 121 high explosive shells.
“Demand for artillery ammunition is currently very high, due not just to Ukraine’s requirements but also the need to replenish the largely empty ammunition depots of Germany and other NATO and EU countries.
“Rheinmetall plans a massive increase in ammunition production capacity in 2024 at its plants in Germany, Spain, South Africa, and Australia, bringing annual output capacity to around 700,000 artillery rounds.”
Rheinmetall currently has multi-year framework contracts for supplying the German Bundeswehr with several hundred rounds of artillery ammunition worth over €1 billion.
Earlier this year, Rheinmetall Defence Australia officially “struck the arc” in the first weld of materials for the first Australian Boxer Combat Reconnaissance Vehicle entering production at Rheinmetall’s Military Vehicle Centre of Excellence (MILVEHCOE) in Ipswich, Queensland.
The milestone vehicle was the first to enter the production line together with initial vehicles from Germany currently being assembled at the site in south-east Queensland and marks a major evolution in the history of the local Boxer Combat Reconnaissance Vehicle (CRV) program.
Joining Rheinmetall’s 660-strong Queensland workforce was Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, Deputy Premier Dr Steven Miles, and the company’s Australian industry partners including Bisalloy, Marand, and Intellidesign to celebrate the start of production, realising Rheinmetall’s goal to support Australia’s Defence Force and its allies with an industrial base in the region.
Recognising the milestone, Nathan Poyner, managing director of Rheinmetall Defence Australia, commented, “Rheinmetall has delivered a first batch of 25 Boxer CRVs to Australia. These initial Boxers were built in Germany, and finalised at MILVEHCOE, joining the more than 2,900 HX Trucks that were finalised and are today sustained from the facility.
