Panther KF51. Image: Rheinmetall Defence.
The largest German arms manufacturer, Rheinmetall, will open an armored vehicle manufacturing plant in Ukraine in the next 12 weeks.
That’s according to CNN sources.
July 12, 2023. The plant will be located in the western part of Ukraine, said Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger.
The company will also train Ukrainians to maintain tanks and other armored vehicles manufactured at the plant. According to the CEO, the new plant will build and repair Rheinmetall Fuchs armored personnel carriers under license.
“[Ukrainians] have to help themselves — if they always have to wait [for] Europeans or Americans [to] help them over the next 10 or 20 years… that is not possible,” Papperger said.
Rheinmetall (RNMBF) will operate the plant in partnership with Ukroboronprom, which will also own the enterprise. In May, the two companies announced an agreement to increase Ukraine’s defense technology capabilities.
Papperger added that the plant will be protected from Russian attacks.
“There are a lot of factories at the moment which are producing military goods [in Ukraine]. It is just another one — and we can protect that also,” he said.
According to him, next year Rheinmetall will increase its annual production of artillery shells from 100,000 to 600,000, and a significant part of this additional production will be earmarked for deliveries to Ukraine.
Papperger noted that Rheinmetall could theoretically supply 60% of Ukraine’s demand for artillery ammunition.
As reported, by order of the German government, the defense concern Rheinmetall will send another 20 Marder infantry fighting vehicles to Ukraine in the summer.
Over $200 Million Plant.
Rheinmetall will operate the 200 million euro ($213 million) plant in partnership with the Ukrainian state-owned defense firm Ukroboronprom.
The German defense firm will also train Ukrainian workers to maintain tanks and other armored vehicles built in the factory, such as the Fuchs armored personnel carrier.
Dismissing Russian Threat to Factory.
The decision comes as former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev threatened last month to strike the prospective tank factory.
Dismissing the threat, Papperger said that the company would be protected from Russian strikes.
He had earlier suggested that an air defense system could protect the factory from potential Russian strikes.
“There are a lot of factories at the moment which are producing military goods [in Ukraine]. It is just another one — and we can protect that also,” CNN quoted him.
