Rheinmetall to Open Ammunition Factory in Ukraine Within 12–14 Months
German defense group Rheinmetall plans to build an ammunition factory in Ukraine that, according to CEO Armin Papperger, could be ready within 12 to 14 months.
The Gaze reports on it, referring to Deutsche Welle.
In an interview with DW, Armin Papperger spoke about the opening of Rheinmetall's new automated factory in Lower Saxony, its capacity and key challenges, including effective supply chain management.
In response to a question about when and how much ammunition Ukraine will receive from the new ammunition factory in Unterlüß, Lower Saxony, Papperger replied that this year the first 25,000 shells from this factory will be sent to Ukraine.
"Next year we will be able to produce 150,000 or more. And then, as we have a production growth curve, we will increase it to 350,000. This is for Germany and Ukraine," said the director of Rheinmetall.
He also noted that, given this, next year they will be able to supply at least 100,000, and then possibly 200,000 to Ukraine.
In addition, the director of Rheinmetall said that he had discussed plans to open a similar factory in Ukraine with the new Ukrainian Minister of Defense, Denys Shmyhal. It is worth recalling that the factory is part of a large-scale order from the Ukrainian government, announced in July 2024.
Papperger stressed that it is important to speed up the preparatory work and promised to hold a separate meeting for him on site and show all the details of the project.
“I told him: ‘Minister, look, this can be done in 14 months.’ Before we started planning in Unterlüss, we had already been planning in Ukraine. But we are still not ready in Ukraine,” said the CEO of the defense company, adding that more could have been done.
When asked when the plant would start production, Papperger replied that, first of all, it was necessary to have a clear concept for construction. The civilian part of the plant is not yet ready, but he hopes that the minister will take care of this, and then the ammunition production plant could be ready in 12–14 months.
The plant will produce 155 mm artillery shells DM121. Initial plans envisaged a capacity of 150,000 shells per year, but Rheinmetall expects to be able to produce up to 300,000 a year. At the same time, the CEO noted that the expansion of production can only be implemented with funding from Ukraine or partner countries.
As The Gaze informed earlier, Germany will provide Ukraine with €9 billion in yearly support from the federal budget in the coming years.