Rheinmetall chalks up more munitions and air defence contracts

Germany's Rheinmetall has reported a number of contracts covering missiles, air defence systems and large-calibre ammunition in the week of 30 January.

On 30 January it announced that the Finnish Armed Forces had contracted with EuroSpike, a joint venture of Rheinmetall Electronics, Diehl Defence and Rafael, for Spike antitank guided missiles. No quantity was given but the company cited an overall value in the 'mid-double-digit million-euro range'. 

Finland has already received 500 Spike MR/LR and 400 Spike ER rounds according to Shephard Defence Insight, and the country's MoD approved purchase of Spike SR, LR2 and ER2 variants in December 2022. 

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Two days later Rheinmetall revealed it had been contracted by an unidentified international customer to supply unspecified air defence systems, including ammunition, suggesting that this is a cannon- rather than missile-based solution. The order value was also in the 'mid double-digit million-euro range'.

Lastly, on 2 February revealed two further contracts for indirect fire ammunition. An international customer ordered propellant charges worth around €40 million from Rheinmetall Denel Munition (RDM), the group’s South African subsidiary. 

Another customer, a NATO member, placed an order with RDM for Assegai 155mm ammunition, worth around €17 million. The Assegai family of ammunition can be fired from any NATO STANAG-compatible artillery system, including the PzH 2000 self-propelled howitzer, Rheinmetall highlighted in its announcement.

NATO members operating the PzH 2000 are Croatia. Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania and the Netherlands.