The German defense concern Rheinmetall plans to produce up to 600,000-700,000 artillery ammunition per year for further deliveries to Ukraine, the head of the company, Armin Papperger, said on May 5 in an interview with the Handelsblatt newspaper.
Rheinmetall management intends to supply a “significant amount” of shells for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Now the concern produces 450 thousand ammunition per year. According to the media, the possibilities of Ukraine’s foreign partners are limited, since they have already transferred their stocks to Kyiv.
Replenishing arsenals proved difficult due to the decline in the production capacity of the Western defense industry after the end of the Cold War, writes TASS. The European Commission plans to allocate about €500 million for the restoration of capacities. A similar amount should come from the EU countries. In total, we are talking about €1 billion in subsidies.
Rheinmetall has five divisions, including those engaged in the production of weapons and ammunition (large and medium-caliber weapons, ammunition, explosives), electronics (radar). Rheinmetall military products are in service with the Bundeswehr and other countries of the world. The Mauser rapid-fire cannons developed by the German concern are used on American F16, F22 and F35 aircraft.
