The German army intends to order 200,000 more artillery shells from the arms manufacturer Rheinmetall than initially planned.
This is stated in a letter from the German Ministry of Defense to the parliamentary budget committee, according to Reuters.
Germany plans to acquire an additional 200,000 155-mm artillery shells worth around 880 million euros as part of a framework agreement with the defense company, the letter says. The German army has already agreed to a deal worth 1.2 billion euros for several hundred thousand shells, fuses, and charges.
The new shells are intended to replenish the army’s stockpiles, as Germany helps supply weapons to Ukraine, which has been fighting against Russian military forces since their invasion in 2022.
While Western governments are strengthening their armies and replenishing stocks after supplying weapons to Kyiv, Rheinmetall, whose market value has more than quadrupled since the start of the war in Ukraine, is seeing a sharp increase in orders.
By placing the order, the German Ministry of Defense also wants to ensure that Rheinmetall can establish a new production line in the central German town of Unterlüß.
It should be noted that Germany has allowed the Ukrainian Armed Forces to use its weapons for strikes on Russian territory, but only within the border areas of the Kharkiv region. At the same time, the country’s Chancellor Scholz stated that the use of German weapons by Ukraine to strike Russian territory will not lead to escalation.
Photo: open sources
