On the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, Rheinmetall initiated the establishment of a joint venture with a Ukrainian company with a memorandum of understanding to open a new ammunition plant in Ukraine.
In the future, the “Ukrainian Competence Center for Ammunition” will produce a six-digit number of 155mm caliber bullets per year, including the corresponding propellants, writes Rheinmetall. To this end, the JV partners want to build a new production facility and operate it together in the future. Rheinmetall will hold 51 percent of the shares in the joint venture, with the Ukrainian partner holding 49 percent.
“The need for artillery ammunition in many countries is enormous - first of all, of course, in Ukraine. Our intention to establish another joint venture there underlines how serious Rheinmetall is about supporting the country. The joint venture will make a significant contribution to Ukraine’s defense capability and thus serve security in Europe,” said Armin Papperger, CEO of Rheinmetall AG.
“We want to be an efficient partner for Ukraine in rebuilding the once strong defense industry in Ukraine and ensuring the autonomy of Ukrainian capacities. We are already the country's most important defense industry partner. Overall, we currently have projects worth several billion euros in progress with Ukraine, and the number is increasing almost every day,” Papperger continued.
Only on February 12th, in the presence of Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz, the symbolic groundbreaking ceremony for a new plant was held in Unterlüß, Lower Saxony, in which - in addition to explosives and components for rocket artillery - artillery ammunition will also be produced from 2025 (ESuTreported).
Already in October 2023, Rheinmetall AG and the Ukrainian state-owned company Ukrainian Defense Industry JSC (UDI, formerly Ukroboronprom) founded their first joint venture in Kiev - Rheinmetall Ukrainian Defense Industry LLC (ESuTreported). In a first step, emergency vehicles will be maintained and repaired; later, armored vehicles will also be manufactured in Ukraine.
Editorial staff / gwh