Rheinmetall to provide large shell batch for Leopard tanks for Ukraine

The military-industrial company Rheinmetall is ready to supply a large amount of ammunition for Leopard tanks, which Germany and other countries will send to Ukraine, Tagesschau reports.

"Rheinmetall is ready and, as a precautionary measure, has significantly increased its ammunition production capacity, especially in the large-caliber sector," the company based in Düsseldorf said.

"We have invested heavily in this. And we will continue to do so, building new production facilities and hiring additional personnel. We are doing everything possible to support Ukraine, NATO, and the German government, including the ammunition they need," Rheinmetall emphasized.

Thanks to the increase in capacity, the concern can meet the projected increase in demand from the Bundeswehr and the armed forces of other countries that are part of the "tank coalition."

Reference

On January 25, the German government decided to provide the Ukrainian armed forces with Leopard-2 main battle tanks. This resulted from intensive consultations with the country's closest European and international partners.

Germany's goal is to quickly assemble two tank battalions for Ukraine. As a first step, Germany will provide 14 Leopard 2 A6 tanks from Bundeswehr warehouses.

As Rubryka wrote, training Ukrainian crews in Germany should begin soon. Ukraine will also be helped with logistics, ammunition, and maintenance of tanks.

Germany will also issue permits for the transfer of tanks to partner countries that want to quickly deliver Leopard 2 from their warehouses to Ukraine.

According to Spiegel, at this stage, the European allies are discussing the joint transfer to Ukraine of a total of 80 Leopard 2 main battle tanks to form two battalions of 40 vehicles.