The EU Commissioner visited the armaments company’s plant in Unterlüß on Thursday.
(Photo: Rheinmetall)
Berlin, Brussels, Dusseldorf The armaments group Rheinmetall wants to make artillery ammunition available to Ukraine on a large scale. “We can deliver up to 600,000 shots per year,” said CEO Armin Papperger after a visit by EU Industry Commissioner Thierry Breton to the Handelsblatt. Breton arrived at short notice on Thursday to visit the Rheinmetall plant in Unterlüß, Lower Saxony, to talk about further support for Ukraine.
The EU has pledged to supply Ukraine with one million artillery shells a year to help the country defend against Russian attackers. This goal must be achieved quickly, Breton confirmed in a video message published on Thursday. Because of the intense fighting, Ukraine is at risk of running out of ammunition.
At the moment, the Western partner countries’ options for aid are limited, as they have largely handed over their available supplies to Kiev. On behalf of the EU Commission, Breton is to look for options to close this gap.
Replenishment is proving difficult because western armaments companies reduced their production capacities after the end of the Cold War. In order to reforest them, the EU Commission is providing 500 million euros. The same amount is to come from the EU states, so that a total of one billion euros in subsidies is available.
With an annual output of 450,000 shells, Rheinmetall is already the largest western ammunition manufacturer. “We can expand our production to 600,000 to 700,000 artillery shells a year,” Papperger specified.
A tour de force that takes time
Should Rheinmetall be awarded the contract by the EU Commission, the volume could be one of the group’s three largest individual ammunition orders. Rheinmetall received the historically largest ammunition order from Hungary in the first quarter of 2022. The armaments group had only mentioned the order value of “several hundred million euros”.
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Rheinmetall already supplies the Ukrainian armed forces with ammunition and weapon systems. However, the now possible expansion in the field of artillery shells would be a tour de force that would take some time. “Since we can expand the existing plants, this work should be completed in one to one and a half years,” said the CEO.
Papperger estimates the cost of increasing production at between 200 and 250 million euros. If an agreement is reached with the EU Commission, he can hope for financial support from the special funds. “Most of the money we would invest in Germany,” he said.
In addition to Germany, Rheinmetall operates ammunition factories in South Africa and in the future also in Hungary. In addition, the takeover of the Spanish Expal Systems is to be completed in July; Papperger has already included their capacity in the target of 700,000 rounds of artillery ammunition.
The EU states had been arguing for weeks about how to keep the promise to procure a million rounds for Ukraine within twelve months. France wanted to enforce that the ammunition had to be produced in Europe. Eastern European countries also wanted to be able to shop on the world market. Ukraine warned that such blockades are costing lives.
A compromise has now been reached. Accordingly, components may come from non-European suppliers, the final assembly must take place in Europe. Rheinmetall’s announcement now fuels hope that, despite these conditions, Ukraine’s ammunition needs can be met.
More: EU Commission swears arms companies to “war economy”.