Rheinmetall Supplies German Military with Record 12 Trillion Won Worth of Shells... "Estimated Millions of Rounds"

[Image source=AFP Yonhap News]

Germany's largest defense contractor Rheinmetall has signed an artillery shell supply contract worth over 12 trillion won, the largest in its history, with the German Bundeswehr, according to the German daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) on the 21st (local time).

According to the report, Rheinmetall signed an artillery shell supply contract worth a total of 8.5 billion euros (approximately 12.6 trillion won) with the German Bundeswehr. Under the contract, Rheinmetall will supply 155mm shells to the Bundeswehr from next year until 2029. Rheinmetall and the German Bundeswehr did not disclose the exact quantity of shells supplied citing national security reasons, but based on the contract amount, it is estimated to be in the millions.

The supplied shells will be used to replenish the Bundeswehr's stock and to support Ukraine, which is at war with Russia. The shells are produced at a factory in Unterl?ß, Lower Saxony, which began operations in February. Especially after the outbreak of the Ukraine war, Rheinmetall has increased its production capacity by building a new factory and acquiring the Spanish defense company Expal in response to the surge in demand for shells. Rheinmetall's ammunition production is expected to increase from 70,000 shells annually before the Ukraine war to 700,000 next year and 1.1 million by 2027.