The symbolic ground-breaking ceremony for the new Rheinmetall Werk Niedersachsen plant with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Defense Minister Boris Pistorius and Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen could also be seen on the TV news on 12 February 2024. The Unterlüß site in the Lüneburg Heath is one of the company's most important ones and will be celebrating its 125th anniversary in 2024. It currently employs around 2,500 people, who are primarily dedicated to the development, construction and support of tracked vehicles and the production of weapon systems and ammunition – for the Bundeswehr and for the armed forces of other nations. Rheinmetall also carries out its activities with high-energy laser effectors in Unterlüß. Furthermore, the Unterlüß test center, with the largest privately owned firing range in Europe, is involved in the acceptance procedures for ammunition and weapon systems. The Rheinmetall Werk Niedersachsen factory is set to produce artillery ammunition, explosives and rocket artillery components. Around 200,000 artillery shells are to be produced here each year, as well as up to 1,900 tonnes of RDX explosives and optionally other ammunition charge components. In addition, the production of rocket esystems and possibly warheads, such as those required for the planned German rocket artillery project, is to take place on site.
This development of defense infrastructure is backed by a company-financed investment volume of around 300 million euros. Rheinmetall is therefore bearing the costs of the plant, with no contribution from the public sector. Around 500 new jobs will be created locally. "To secure Germany’s strategic sovereignty in the large-caliber ammunition domain, we’re creating a national production facility that sets new standards and will primarily meet the needs of the German Bundeswehr," says CEO Armin Papperger. "With Werk Niedersachsen, we’re establishing another European centre for producing artillery ammunition and other effectors at our historic Unterlüß site. The move reflects our sense of responsibility and resolve to contribute materially to the ability of our country and our NATO partners to defend itself.”
New Rheinmetall projects are announced almost on a weekly basis, with the Düsseldorf-based company founding Rheinmetall Ukrainian Defense Industry LLC in October 2023. This is a joint venture with the Ukrainian state-owned company Ukrainian Defense Industry JSC. In addition to ongoing maintenance and repair work on emergency vehicles, armored vehicles are also to be built in Ukraine in the future. Rheinmetall is a leading manufacturer in the defense sector and one of the world's largest ammunition manufacturers. The company has already made considerable investments in its production network in recent months. From 2025, Rheinmetall plans to produce up to 700,000 artillery shells and 10,000 tonnes of powder at its sites in Germany, Spain, South Africa, Australia and Hungary.
Rheinmetall AG will be presenting these new systems at Enforce Tac 2024
The Düsseldorf-based technology group will once again be presenting users, procurers and other trade visitors with a number of new products and other elements of its tactical catalog from the Vehicle Systems, Weapon and Ammunition and Electronic Solutions divisions. For the first time, Rheinmetall will be presenting itself as a complete system supplier for ballistic body armor. A new VPAM7-class ballistic vest, a protective high-visibility vest developed for traffic stops, and a modular ballistic vest for SWAT teams will be presented at the booth in Hall 7/755.
The LLM-PTAL laser light module developed for pistols and the MTAL Venom laser module designed especially for assault rifles are both celebrating their première at the security trade fair in Nuremberg. The personal position marking and warning system (Functional Protection System Beacon, or FPS Beacon) enables visible, non-visible and thermal position marking and warns in dangerous situations and when detected by lasers. The Gladius Light Soldier System is a customised version of the Gladius 2.0 Soldier System configured for special forces. The tried-and-tested ROSY rapid obscuring system protects land, air and sea vehicles even when on the move with a spontaneous smoke screen. At Enforce Tac 2024, the ROSY_L variant can be seen on the Fieldranger weapon station of the Survivor R protected special vehicle and on the Caracal airborne vehicle.
