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The leaders of Germany and Denmark took part in a groundbreaking ceremony for a new ammunition factory on Monday, highlighting European efforts to expand weapons production as Russia’s war in Ukraine escalates.
The factory, which defense company Rheinmetall is building at an existing site in Unterluss in northern Germany, is expected to eventually produce about 200,000 artillery shells a year, as well as other components, including explosives and possibly warheads. . Rheinmetall will incur costs of approximately 300 million euros ($324 million).
Rheinmetall said production at the facility will primarily meet the needs of the German and Bundeswehr armed forces. The company said its priority is to start production as soon as possible and expects construction to take about a year.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who attended the ceremony together with Defense Minister and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, said that Rheinmetall is “the basis for independently and above all permanently supplying the Bundeswehr and its European partners with shells.” We are building a
He said this was particularly important given Ukraine’s ammunition needs, German news agency DPA reported.
“We’ve managed to get by in the past by making a lot of money from our stock,” but that’s becoming increasingly difficult, he added. “It is important that we do everything in our power to increase production around the world.”
Russia’s arms industry far exceeds Ukraine’s, and Kiev relies on Western aid to match Moscow’s firepower. However, the 27-nation EU’s plan to produce 1 million shells for Ukraine remains unfulfilled, with only about a third of the target achieved.
The war in Ukraine had raised concerns in Germany about the preparedness of its military, and days after the invasion of Russia, Scholz announced what he called a “tipping point” in military spending.
Germany plans to spend 2% of its gross domestic product this year, a goal the NATO allies set a decade ago that has long eluded them. It also became Ukraine’s second largest military supplier after the United States.