Ukrainian Government Confirms Plans to Launch Rheinmetall Equipment Production in Ukraine

5 December, 2023 Rheinmetall plant. Photo from open sources Ukraine and Rheinmetall will launch the production of armored vehicles on Ukrainian territory soon.

This was announced by Denys Shmyhal, the Prime Minister of Ukraine. "This is the flagship project of uniting the forces of Ukraine and European gunsmiths to achieve a just peace and for our common security," Denys Shmyhal said. In October, the Prime Minister and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz launched a cooperation between the Ukrainian defense industry and the German Rheinmetall.

The company already produces artillery shells for Ukraine and receives new orders for them.

Denys Shmyhal, Prime Minister of Ukraine

"In the future, we will also bet on technology transfer, investment in design development, new production and Military Tech," the Prime Minister said. Previously, it became known that the German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall plans to launch the first Fuchs and Lynx armored vehicles in Ukraine next year. The head of Rheinmetall said that he expects to conclude a corresponding agreement with Ukraine early next year.

After signing the contract, according to the plan, the first Fuchs will leave the assembly line within 6-7 months, and the first Lynx within 12-13 months.

TPz 1 Fuchs APC. Photo from open sources

The general director of the company explained that the production of Fuchs armored personnel carriers in Ukraine will become possible from the end of the summer of 2024, and production of Lynx IFVs may begin in the summer of 2025. Rheinmetall's CEO attributes the unusually short runtime to the fact that the collaboration has progressed well.

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KF41 Lynx IFV of the Hungarian military. October 2022. Hungary.

Photo credits: Ministry of Defense of Hungary

The German company is already the largest partner of Ukraine in the defense industry.

In 2022, the group received orders worth about 900 million euros, and in 2023, the volume of orders grew to about two and a half billion euros.