The German defence enterprise Rheinmetall plans to supply Ukraine with hundreds of thousands of artillery ammunition in 2024.
Rheinmetall intrigued with new long-range shells for Ukraine
The German defence giant Rheinmetall held an event organised by the Association of Business Journalists at the Düsseldorf-Boss Industrial Club, during which the head of the company, Armin Papperger, told a rather exciting nuance about the supply of artillery ammunition as part of defence aid to Ukraine.
Thus, in the context of the war in Ukraine, he emphasised that "artillery changes the rules of war" on the battlefield and this year Rheinmetall should supply "hundreds of thousands" of artillery ammunition for the Defense Forces of Ukraine. And among them there will also be prototypes of artillery ammunition with a range of up to 100 km, according to the publication Handelsblatt.
We will remind you that today, the Vulcano is the most long-range 155 mm ammunition on Germany's list of defence aid to Ukraine. Even last year, it became known that Germany was handed over to our Defense Forces laser illuminators for this artillery ammunition, which alluded to the improved version of the Vulcano GLR with a range of up to 70 km when firing from 155 mm calibre artillery systems.
At the same time, it remains a mystery how many new prototypes of 100 km ammunition will be delivered to Ukraine - we can assume that for now it is a small batch for testing in the conditions of a difficult battlefield, which will then be improved taking into account feedback from our military.
Regarding the German company's production of artillery ammunition in general, the publication reminds that until February 2022, the production rate of artillery shells was about 70,000 per year. At the same time this year, the throughput should increase to 700,000 and reach 1.1 million units shortly.
Today, Rheinmetall is actively expanding ammunition production in Europe. In particular, preliminary agreements with Lithuania were reported last month on creating a new production facility for 155 mm projectiles.
In addition, in February, Rheinmetall announced plans to open a new plant for the production of 155-mm projectiles, which is expected to produce a six-figure amount of ammunition per year.
Rheinmetall plant in Lithuania
The Lithuanian authorities and the German defence company Rheinmetall signed a memorandum of intent to build an ammunition plant in the country.
The Ministry of Economy and Innovation of Lithuania reports that the signed document establishes mutual obligations and intentions regarding the earliest possible start of construction of the 155-mm ammunition plant in Lithuania and the fulfillment of the necessary conditions.
Lithuania's Minister of Economy and Innovation, Aušrinė Armonaitė, emphasised that her country should "pay great attention not to talk about the threat of war but to real actions to ensure the security of our country."
Freedom should be armed better than tyranny — today this warning of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, made at the beginning of a full-scale war with Russia, is more relevant than ever. And although we wish Ukraine to win as soon as possible, we are well aware that Russia will remain the biggest threat to Europe for a long time.
Šimonite added that the Rheinmetall plant will be necessary for Lithuania, Ukraine and the entire region, and the Lithuanian government will do everything in its power to make the plant operational as soon as possible.
Lithuanian MOD chief, Laurinas Kaščiūnas, added that the establishment of the plant will reduce Lithuania's dependence on long supply chains, which currently pose major challenges in meeting the needs of armies across the European Union and the world.
