Rheinmetall CEO: we can expand artillery production capacity

The Düsseldorf-based company is the largest European manufacturer of artillery ammunition. Rheinmetall currently produces up to 450,000 artillery rounds per year.

However, the demand for artillery ammunition is much greater due to the war in Ukraine. The Armed Forces of Ukraine which still defending the country against the aggression of the Russian army, need huge amounts of 155mm artillery ammunition.

“We can expand our production to 600,000 to 700,000 artillery shells per year,” CEO of Rheinmetall Armin Papperger told German newspaper “Handelsblatt”.

He added that the estimated cost of investments aimed aimed at increasing the capacity production of artillery ammunition is €200-250 million.

As Defence Industry Europe reported, on May 4, European Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton visited Rheinmetall’s facility in Unterluss to discuss the company’s commitment to the plan to ramp up the production of artillery ammunition in Europe to support Ukraine and replenish the military stocks of the European Union members.

“Germany recently demonstrated a notable shift for strengthening defence efforts and supporting Ukraine. Germany has a pivotal role to play in boosting EU ammunition production, notably through valuable partnerships”, Commissioner Thierry Breton said.

EU defence industry: ASAP 🇪🇺 pic.twitter.com/rqvR8ldGnV

— Thierry Breton (@ThierryBreton) May 3, 2023

“We will continue the massive expansion of capacities that has already begun in order to be able to support the countries of Europe in the best possible way,” stressed Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger.