New Rheinmetall plant will produce 200,000 rounds of ammunition per year

Defense concern Rheinmetall has revealed details of its new ammunition plant currently under construction in Germany.

The press service of the concern reported on this.

On December 12, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, together with Armin Papperger, CEO of Rheinmetall AG, held a symbolic groundbreaking ceremony for the ‘Lower Saxony plant.’

The new Rheinmetall plant, based in Unterlüß, will have a full production cycle that will include all the necessary steps to produce a “complete shot”: projectile, detonator, explosive charge and metal powder charge.

The full cycle involves the creation of a plant for the production of gunpowder and explosives that will be able to produce up to 1800-1900 tons of hexogen, a foundry for the production of artillery shells with a capacity of up to 200 thousand units per year. In addition, a plant for the production of solid rocket engines will be set up.

The project presentation stated that it would take a year to build the facility. In about 12 months, the factory will have a capacity of about 50,000 shells per year, in the second year the capacity will be 100,000 shells per year, and in the third year – 200,000 shells per year.

Representatives of the concern noted that Rheinmetall adhered to a modular and scalable supply security concept that would allow for further production expansion in future.

The concern’s total investment in the new facility is about €300 million. This will create about 500 new jobs locally.

Rheinmetall emphasized that new capacities should’ve been created, taking into account the arms market and the experience of the Russian-Ukrainian war.

“The experience of the Ukrainian war shows a huge need for artillery ammunition. The Bundeswehr’s warehouses are empty, and their needs are estimated at around €40 billion. The shortage is exacerbated by the huge consumption of ammunition in Ukraine.

Existing production facilities in the Western world are not designed for such volumes. That is why Germany, like other countries, plans to purchase large volumes for a long time,” the concern says.

Rheinmetall is a leading manufacturer in the defense sector and one of the largest ammunition producers in the world. In recent months, the company has already made significant investments in its production network.

From 2025, Rheinmetall plans to produce up to 700,000 artillery shells and 10,000 tons of gunpowder at its plants in Germany, Spain, Hungary, as well as South Africa and Australia.