German defence firm Rheinmetall plans Ukraine arms factories

FRANKFURT: German palms producer Rheinmetall acknowledged on Thursday (Mar 14) it plans to quandary up as a minimum four factories in Ukraine, because it targets a myth €10 billion (US$10.9 billion) in sales this yr.

The Ukraine battle has boosted Germany’s weapons industry as worldwide locations rep out about to re-arm in the face of the rising menace from Russia, and soaring seek data from final yr propelled Rheinmetall onto the blue-chip DAX index.

The company acknowledged the factories in Ukraine – which has been laid low with ammunition shortages as Moscow makes battlefield positive aspects – would be for producing shells, navy vehicles, gunpowder and anti-airplane weapons.

“Ukraine is now a a will need to delight in partner for us, the set we ogle a likely of between two and three billion euros (in sales) per yr,” Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger acknowledged on the presentation of the corporate’s 2023 results.

The Duesseldorf-based totally community – which makes substances of the Leopard tanks that Berlin agreed could be despatched to Ukraine after great hesitation – reported myth sales of €7.2 billion final yr, and is aiming to top €10 billion in 2024.

The company’s shares soared five percent in Frankfurt after the consequences were launched.

Germany’s supreme producer of navy equipment had already launched an agreement with a Ukrainian company in February to create artillery shells in Ukraine.

The bottom-breaking will snatch set soon for the plant – in an undisclosed situation – and this could be modelled on an ammunition manufacturing facility that Rheinmetall is building in Germany.

The company already operates a joint endeavor in Ukraine for repairing navy vehicles.

Rheinmetall is also going to create a producing facility in Lithuania, the set Germany plans to deploy a brigade-sized navy unit on a eternal basis to abet actual NATO’s jap flank.

The company acknowledged it used to be planning to ramp up production of artillery shells, as Ukraine’s European allies fight to know output to allow them to provide Kyiv with more ammunition.