As the first order success for Rheinmetall as part of its strategic portfolio expansion to include rocket artillery, the company reports a major order for the production of artillery rockets from a NATO country. The 300 million euro order will be carried out under the responsibility of the new Spanish acquisition Rheinmetall Expal Munitions, writes Rheinmetall in a press release. The subject of the order is rockets that cover a range of up to 300 km. The order also includes other additional services and systems.
In the new ammunition factory in Unterlüß, whose construction began on February 12th with a symbolic groundbreaking ceremony in the presence of Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Defense Minister Boris Pistorius and other celebrities, in addition to explosives and 155mm ammunition, 3,000 rocket motors will also be produced annually (ESuTreported).
In the exhibition on the sidelines of the groundbreaking ceremony, Rheinmetall exhibited a container for GMLRS rockets (guided surface-to-surface rockets for multiple rocket launchers MLRS or HiMARS) “from our own production,” as a Rheinmetall employee explained when asked. In addition, Rheinmetall entered into a partnership with Lockheed Martin in mid-2023 to develop a possible successor to the aforementioned artillery rocket systems under the name GMARS. In addition to the carrier vehicle, Rheinmetall wants to supply the rocket motors, among other things. It can therefore be assumed that rockets for MLRS and HiMARS will be produced under the reported large order.
Gerhard Heiming
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