By Burak Bir
LONDON (AA) - The Duesseldorf-based technology group Rheinmetall has received a record $9 billion order for ammunition supply from the German armed forces, the firm said Friday.
In a statement, the group said it has received a framework contract from the Bundeswehr (German armed forces) for the delivery of 155mm artillery ammunition worth up to €8.5 billion ($9.09 billion) gross.
It came after the contract was signed on Thursday by Annette Lehnigk-Emden, the head of the Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support, and representatives of Rheinmetall in Koblenz at the office’s headquarters.
"The main purpose of the order is to replenish the stocks held by the Bundeswehr and its allies, as well as to provide support to Ukraine in its defence campaign," read the statement.
The primary purchaser will be Germany, which will provide part of the supplies to Ukraine but the partners, the Netherlands, Estonia, and Denmark, are also participating in the order, according to the group.
Rheinmetall added that the deliveries are to begin at the start of 2025.
Expressing pleasure over the order, the company's largest in its history, Armin Papperger, the chairman of the Executive Board of Rheinmetall AG, said: "This large-volume framework contract underlines Rheinmetall’s leading role as an ammunition supplier in Germany and our position as the world’s largest manufacturer of artillery ammunition."
Papperger added that Rheinmetall will produce the entire value chain for artillery ammunition in Unterluess, Lower Saxony, to be able to offer the "full shot" by a single source, the projectile, the fuse, the explosive charge, and the propellant charge that propels the projectile out of the barrel when fired.