Rheinmetall to Open 155mm Artillery Ammunition Plant in Ukraine

Rheinmetall, Europe’s largest ammunition maker, plans to open a new plant in Ukraine that will produce “six-digit-number” of 155mm artillery shells.

Critical shortage of 155mm artillery shells has often been blamed for Ukrainian Forces’ inability to hold their ground against Russian Army’s advances in Southern Ukraine.

Rheinmetall and a Ukrainian partner company have signed a memorandum of understanding to set up a joint venture which in future will produce ammunition in Ukraine. The MoU was signed in the presence of Alexander Kamyshin, the Ukrainian Minister for Strategic Industries, during the Munich Security Conference.

The "Ukrainian Competence Center for Ammunition" is to produce a “six-digit number” (millions) of 155mm calibre bullets per year in the future, including the corresponding propelling charges. To achieve this, the partners plan to build and jointly operate a new production facility," a company press release said.

Rheinmetall will have a 51 percent stake in the new company, with the remaining 49 percent share held by the Ukrainian partner.

Just the other day, on 12 February, Chancellor Scholz took part in the ground-breaking ceremony for a new plant at Unterlüß in Lower Saxony which, along with explosives and rocket artillery components, will also produce artillery ammunition starting in 2025.

“Demand for ammunition in many countries is enormous – first and foremost in Ukraine, of course. Our intention of establishing another joint venture underscores our support for Ukraine. This joint venture will make a vital contribution to the country’s ability to defend itself – and thus to the security of all Europe”, declares Armin Papperger, chairman of the executive board of Rheinmetall AG.

As Mr Papperger puts it, “We want to be an effective partner of Ukraine, to help rebuild the country’s once powerful defence industry, and to assure Ukrainian autonomy in ammunition production. Already today, we are Kyiv’s most important defence industry partner. We are currently processing several billion euros worth of projects on behalf of Ukraine, with more almost daily.”

Rheinmetall is not only the world’s largest producer of artillery ammunition and a defence technology leader. It also has the expertise needed to plan, build and operate facilities for producing ammunition.

In October 2023 Rheinmetall AG and Ukraine’s state-owned enterprise Ukrainian Defense Industry JSC (UDI, the former Ukroboronprom) established a first joint venture in Kyiv – Rheinmetall Ukrainian Defense Industry LLC. In a first step, the company will maintain and repair combat vehicles; later, armored vehicles will also be built in Ukraine.