Rheinmetall

Aktivs

As of February 2024

History

2024

Construction of Rheinmetall plant started in Lithuania

On April 16, 2024 in Vilnius, Rheinmetall representative Maximilian Froch signed an agreement of intent with the Lithuanian government on the production of artillery shells in this country. This is the largest investment in the defense industry of the Baltic country.

On November 29, 2024, Lithuanian officials and representatives of the German defense company signed an agreement on the construction of a plant for the production of 155-mm artillery shells. The work will cost Rheinmetall 180 million euros. The company will be located in Baisogale on an area of ​ ​ 340 hectares, 36 km from the NATO air base "Shauliai" (and at a distance of 190 km from the Belarusian border) and will begin work in mid-2026.

The plant will become one of the few (and possibly the only) enterprises built during the inglorious period of Lithuanian independence. Germany, in turn, will be able to quickly supply the 45th Bundeswehr Tank Brigade, which will reach full combat readiness in Lithuania by early 2027.

Start of construction of powder plant in Romania

On August 1, 2024, the German concern Rheinmetall began construction of a new powder factory in the Romanian city of Victoria (Brașov County). The project is being implemented jointly with the Romanian military-industrial company Pirochim Victoria SA, which provided 300 hectares of the territory of the abandoned plant. Part of the funds (47 million out of 400 million euros) was provided by the European Defense Fund. Completion of the construction is planned by January 31, 2027.

As a result, the new production will allow Rheinmetall to achieve its goal of producing more than 1 million artillery shells per year from 2027. Romania will be able to ensure independence from the supply of gunpowder from Serbia in the interests of its own military-industrial complex. 

Plan for opening an ammunition plant in Ukraine

On February 18, 2024, the German concern Rheinmetall announced plans to open an ammunition factory in Ukraine. According to company representatives, it will be a joint venture with one of the Ukrainian firms, which will act as a partner in the project.

The corresponding declaration of intent was signed at the Munich Security Conference. It is assumed that the plant will produce hundreds of thousands of ammunition for the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

A few days later, Rheinmetall's share price exceeded 400 euros for the first time in history.

According to the company's estimates Bundeswehr , 40 billion euros will be required to replenish ammunition reserves, which will provide Rheinmetall with orders for a long time.

Start of construction of ammunition factory in Lower Saxony

On February 12, 2024, in the presence of German Chancellor Scholz, the construction of the Werk Niedersachse ammunition factory in Lower Saxony (up to 200 thousand shells per year) was launched. Earlier, in January 2024, the construction of a line for the production of explosives began on the basis of the plant in Varpalot.

2023

Victory in a new tender for the production of artillery cartridges and an increase in the production plan to 700 thousand units in 2024

Against the background of the tender won on December 4 (in the amount of 142 million euros) for the supply of 155 mm artillery rounds to Ukraine by 2025, the German company Rheinmetall announced plans to increase production in 2024 to 700,000 artillery shells. To this end, factories in Germany, Spain, South Africa and Australia will be involved.  

Buying a plant in Romania and building a new plant in Hungary

In 2023, Rheinmetall acquired more than 70% of the Automecanica Mediaş plant in Romania, on the basis of which the Romanian Artillery Center is being created together with Israel, and a new ammunition plant of the joint venture Rheinmetall Hungary Municipalities Zrt was built. in the Hungarian city of Varpalot.

Purchase of Spanish ammunition and weapons manufacturer Expal Municipal

In August 2023, Rheinmetall, in the interests of increasing production capacity, acquired the Spanish manufacturer of ammunition and weapons Expal Municipal. At the company's facilities, it is planned to fulfill the order in the interests of Ukraine.

Orders for the production of ammunition for 1.3 billion euros from the Ministry of Defense of Germany

In July 2023, the German concern Rheinmetall received regular orders for the production of combat and training artillery ammunition in the amount of about 1.3 billion euros.

According to the press service of the enterprise, the new contracts will expand the existing framework agreements with the German Ministry of Defense and will be valid until 2029.

The bulk of the order is not high-precision, but conventional ammunition: high-explosive fragmentation shells DM121, smoke shells DM125, RH1901 and RH1902, guided ammunition DM702 SMArt, training shells RH68 and universal 155-mm Assegai ammunition.

Hacker attack

On May 22, 2023, the German company Rheinmetall, one of Europe's largest manufacturers of military equipment, including tanks, revealed the similarity of a cyber attack on its information infrastructure.

The incident occurred in mid-April 2023. Then it was said that the hacker invasion affected the business unit of Rheinmetall, which serves civilian customers, in particular, in the automotive sector. The defense unit, which produces military equipment, weapons and ammunition, was not affected by the attack. The fact is that these structures use "strictly separate" IT resources.

German tank manufacturer Rheinmetall admits that the company was attacked by hackers and revealed the name of the group

A subsequent investigation found that the cybercriminal group Black Basta, which specializes in distributing ransomware for ransom for stolen information and/or restoring access to encrypted files, was behind the attack. In the event of an attack on Rheinmetall, the scale of the data breach and the amount requested by the attackers are not specified. It is not clear whether the manufacturer of military equipment paid a ransom. It is only noted that the company "continues to work to eliminate the consequences" of the hacker invasion. A Rheinmetall spokesman said the company had informed law enforcement of the incident and filed a criminal complaint with the Cologne prosecutor's office.

As The Record adds, the cybercriminal group Black Basta is behind a number of high-profile attacks on European and American companies and organizations. In particular, the Swedish-Swiss multinational corporation ABB, the American Association of Dentists, the German wind farm operator Deutsche Windtechnik, the British outsourcing firm Capita and others suffered from the actions of the attackers.^[1]

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