The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense has ordered an additional 180,000 35-mm ammunition for Gepard self-propelled anti-aircraft guns from Rheinmetall. The contract is estimated to be worth several tens of millions of euros and is financed by the German government.
Points of attention
- Ukraine has signed a contract with Rheinmetall for 180,000 ammunition for Gepard installations with funding from the German government.
- According to information, these shells are intended to combat aerial targets, including drones.
- In addition, joint software development for Ukrainian drones by Rheinmetall and Auterion is being implemented.
- A homogeneous operating system will allow for efficient deployment and integration of various unmanned systems into a single architecture.
- The partnership with Rheinmetall could help create communication standards for drones among NATO countries.
Rheinmetall to supply Ukraine with 180,000 ammunition for Gepard
According to information, the order for high-explosive incendiary tracer shells (HEI-T) was received in December 2024.
In total, since February 2023, Rheinmetall has signed agreements to supply Ukraine with 300,000 shells for Gepard installations.
These munitions are designed to effectively combat aerial targets such as drones and will be manufactured at the Rheinmetall plant in Unterlüss.
To meet the growing demand for 35mm ammunition, the plant's production facilities were modernized on short notice in the spring of 2023.
Rheinmetall, together with the US, is developing software for Ukrainian drones
In the overall transition from manned to unmanned systems, it is very important that autonomous systems can interact with each other, said Lorenz Mayer, CEO of Auterion, whose software is already used by drones in Ukraine.
The Auterion operating system will allow “the customer to unify all drones on a common basis and integrate different manufacturers into a common architecture.
According to Timo Haas, Rheinmetall's digital director, there are over "two hundred different unmanned aerial systems operating in Ukraine," "military training is very expensive and time-consuming, and the compatibility of the systems is not guaranteed."
The development of a uniform operating system will ensure efficient and scalable deployment of unmanned systems.
Auterion, along with other companies, is already part of the U.S. Department of Defense’s initiative to develop an open-source standard for autonomous systems, and the company hopes its partnership with Rheinmetall will help to introduce a similar approach among NATO allies.
If “each NATO country has its own communications standard for drones, NATO will not be able to fight together,” Mayer said.
