Ukraine to open a joint plant with Rheinmetall to produce shells

Rheinmetall plans to open a new plant to produce artillery ammunition in Ukraine.

The German concern announced this on its social media.

This will be a joint venture between Rheinmetall and a Ukrainian company that is a partner in this project.

The document on cooperation was signed on Saturday, February 17, in the presence of Oleksandr Kamyshyn, Minister of Strategic Industries of Ukraine, and Oleksii Makeiev, Ambassador of Ukraine to Germany, on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference.

It is planned that the new ammunition plant will produce a six-figure number of 155-mm artillery shells per year.

The joint venture will also produce metal charges.

The German concern Rheinmetall will own 51% of the shares in the joint plant, and the Ukrainian company will own 49%.

In early February, the German concern Rheinmetall announced that it intends to supply the Armed Forces of Ukraine with medium and large caliber ammunition, in particular, 20-mm for the Marder IFV, 40-mm, and 105-mm for the Leopard 1, and 120-mm for the Leopard 2 tanks.

The German government ordered these munitions as part of military aid to Ukraine.

Last year, Rheinmetall expanded its existing production lines and acquired Spanish manufacturer Expal Systems to increase supplies.

The defense concern Rheinmetall is also building a new ammunition plant in Germany that will have a full production cycle. The enterprise will be able to produce up to 1800-1900 tons of hexogen and will have a foundry for the production of artillery shells with a capacity of up to 200,000 units per year.

Rheinmetall plans to produce a total of 700,000 155-mm artillery shells by the end of this year.