European armed forces stock up on 40mm rounds and artillery rockets
One European NATO customer has contracted for up to 345,000 40mm cartridges of different types, while another is taking 10,000. (Photo: Rheinmetall)
Two European NATO customers have signed contracts with Rheinmetall to supply their armed forces with 40mm ammunition, with total value exceeding €30 million, according to a company news release last week.
In December the first customer contracted for supply of up to 300,000 rounds, including LV (low velocity) and HV (high velocity) variants. The NATO nation has already confirmed an initial tranche of around 75,000 cartridges.
A separate arrangement will see the same country taking delivery of 45,000 programmable 40mm x53 HV HE-T ABM (High Velocity High Explosive-Tracer Airburst Munition) cartridges in the first half of 2024.
Related Articles
Rheinmetall Mission Master fires Thales 70mm guided rockets
Ukraine obtains unconventional answer to 122mm ammunition supply problem
Spain acquires additional Elbit radios to support NATO commitments
The second European NATO customer will be supplied with around 10,000 rounds of the same type of ammunition, mainly used for combating drones. Delivery here will take place from mid-2023.
Meanwhile on 11 January Elbit Systems said it had been an approximately $70 million to supply rockets to the armed forces of a European country, with deliveries over a three-year period.
The 122mm extended-range rockets allow ground forces to concentrate fire at up to 40km awayand support autonomous operation in various weather conditions.
Many European nations are looking to restock ammunition reserves depleted by donations to Ukraine, as Shephard recently reported.
More from Land Warfare
-
Thales to modernise Netherlands TACTIS combined arms trainer
Thales will modernise the Royal Netherlands Army’s TACTIS simulation system over eight years with enhanced synthetic environments, new simulators for the CV9035NL, Boxer and Leopard 2 tanks.
-
Anduril Industries unveils improved electromagnetic warfare system
Pulsar-L has already entered service and weighs about 12kg with range of 5km. It was only in May last year that the company disclosed that earlier versions were already in service.
-
Romania approved for additional $280 million Patriot Air Defence System buy
The possible Foreign Military Sale (FMS) from the US will cover the system and any related equipment with Lockheed Martin and RTX as primary contractors.
-
Polaris to unveil new MRZR Alpha base vehicle at Modern Day Marine
The new platform was designed to provide 1KW of exportable power as standard and has been developed in partnership with the US Marine Corps (USMC).
-
British Army details Ajax plans
Of the six variants in the Ajax programme – reconnaissance (Ajax), reconnaissance support (Ares), C2 (Athena), equipment repair (Apollo), equipment recovery (Atlas) and engineering reconnaissance (Argus) – the Ajax reconnaissance version is now entering service.