Shells for artillery
Rheinmetall is building an ammunition factory in Lower Saxony
February 2, 2024, 1:04 p.m
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Germany is lacking ammunition – both for its own armed forces and for supporting Ukraine. Rheinmetall wants to change that and will soon lay the foundation stone for a new factory. Hundreds of thousands of artillery shells are to be produced there.
The arms company Rheinmetall wants to dramatically increase its production of 155-millimeter artillery ammunition. According to information from “Spiegel”, the foundation stone for a new ammunition factory in Unterlüß, Lower Saxony, is to be laid on February 12th. Rheinmetall wants to invest a good 300 million euros at the site and be able to produce 200,000 rounds of artillery ammunition per year by 2025.
Since ammunition production is important for supporting Ukraine, along with Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, Chancellor Olaf Scholz is also expected to lay the foundation stone. According to “Spiegel” information, the federal government is planning purchase guarantees for ammunition and is considering legal relaxations to enable arms manufacturers to produce in stock.
In addition to expanding ammunition production in Unterlüß, Rheinmetall wants to ramp up its explosives production in Germany, Hungary and Romania. An ammunition factory is also planned in Lithuania, on the eastern edge of NATO. According to CEO Armin Papperger, Rheinmetall will be able to produce a good 700,000 rounds of 155-millimeter ammunition at its various locations by the end of 2024. “Our goal is to ensure security of supply for ammunition needs from 2025,” Papperger told “Spiegel”. “We in Germany must finally become more independent in the production of artillery ammunition,” adds the armaments manager.
Papperger did not wait for purchase guarantees for the new ammunition from the Bundeswehr or the federal government when making his plans. “I can fully rely on the Defense Minister; his handshake and the assurance that the Bundeswehr will purchase large quantities of ammunition in the next few years are enough for me,” he says.