Source: Rheinmetall plans to send Ukraine hundreds of thousands of artillery rounds before year-end
That’s according to CEO Armin Papperger, who spoke at a meeting with members of the Association of Journalists of Business Publications, Ukrinform reports with reference to Handelsblatt.
According to Papperger, the industrial group is mainly focused on producing artillery shells and will deliver “hundreds of thousands of rounds” to Ukraine as early as this year. Those will include prototypes of artillery shells with a 100-km range.
“Artillery changes the rules,” emphasized the chief of Rheinmetall.
According to him, now Ukraine can only respond to Russian attacks to a limited extent due to an ammunition shortage.
He noted that both in Europe and the USA, the capacity for the munitions production o has been decreasing over the recent years.
Before Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine, Rheinmetall’s annual capacity stood at nearly 70,000 rounds. This year, the group expects to reach 700,000, and in the medium term aims at 1.1 million. To this end, Rheinmetall is building a plant in Unterluss. A new production line is being set up in Lithuania. In Ukraine, the company also plans to build a munitions factory.
Papperger called the main problem for boosting ammunition production the fact that Germany has no own production of explosives. Most of them are imported from China.
According to the assessment by the Rheinmetall CEO, it will take nearly a decade for the defense industry to replenish the Bundeswehr’s stocks to the proper level after they have been depleted, including as a result of equipment donations to Ukraine.
As reported, Rheinmetall is one of the largest arms suppliers to Ukraine. In addition to military hardware repairs, the group also has plans for the joint production of armored vehicles on Ukrainian soil.
《乌克兰新闻报》援引《商报》报道,首席执行官阿明·帕珀格在与商业出版记者协会成员的一次会议上说,莱茵金属公司计划于2024年向乌克兰交付数十万枚炮弹,其中包括远程炮弹。帕珀格表示,该工业集团主要专注于生产炮弹,最早将于今年向乌克兰交付“数十万发炮弹”。其中包括射程 100 公里的炮弹。莱茵金属公司的负责人强调,“炮兵改变了规则。”他表示,目前乌克兰由于弹药短缺,只能有限程度地应对俄罗斯的攻击。 他指出,欧洲和美国的弹药生产能力近年来一直在下降。 在俄罗斯对乌克兰发动全面战争之前,莱茵金属公司的年产能接近7万发。今年,该集团预计将达到 70 万,中期目标为 110 万。为此,莱茵金属正在翁特鲁斯建设一座工厂。在立陶宛正在建立一条新的生产线。该公司还计划在乌克兰建造一家弹药工厂。 帕珀格称,提高弹药产量的主要问题是德国自己没有炸药生产。其中大部分是从中国进口的。 根据莱茵金属首席执行官的评估,国防工业需要近十年的时间才能将联邦国防军的库存补充到适当的水平,其中包括向乌克兰捐赠设备造成的库存消耗。 据报道,莱茵金属公司是乌克兰最大的武器供应商之一。除了军事硬件维修外,该集团还计划在乌克兰土地上联合生产装甲车。