Solutions to win: Rheinmetall starts building a new plant to prolong military support for Ukraine
Production of 155-mm artillery shells at the Rheinmetall plant, Germany. Photo: EPA/UPG
Rheinmetall is building the new defense enterprise to increase the production of ammunition and continue military support for Ukraine, says the parliament's deputy spokesperson Christine Hoffmann.
What is the problem?
On May 3 last year, the EU Council approved a decision to provide Ukraine with €1 billion in aid for joint procurement of ammunition and missiles.
The plan is to compensate for supplies to member states, another €1 billion for joint purchases of ammunition, and an increase in EU production capacity.
On November 14, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius admitted that the EU would not fulfill its plans by March 2024.
What is the solution?
The EU has significantly increased its ammunition production and will bring this capacity to 1 million rounds per year in March of this year and 2 million in 2025.
The German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall is currently one of the main suppliers of military equipment to Ukraine, promising to supply a large number of different types of ammunition and armored vehicles this year and next.
To increase its capacity, the arms company is building a new defense enterprise to produce ammunition.
How does it work?
Rheinmetall wants to invest about €300 million in the Lower Saxony facility.
Given the high demand for ammunition, the company plans to increase the production of 155-millimeter artillery shells. In the future, the company wants to produce 200,000 artillery rounds annually, as well as explosives and rocket engines.
The symbolic groundbreaking ceremony for the new Rheinmetall plant will take place on February 12 in Unterlüs, Lower Saxony. The ceremony will be attended by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen.
Rheinmetall Technology Group supported the Olena Zelenska Foundation in Kyiv with a donation of €100,000.
The German Federal Antimonopoly Office allowed Rheinmetall to set up a joint venture with Ukraine in late September. The company was reported to be based in Kyiv.
The German concern is negotiating the construction of a tank plant in Ukraine.
