Rheinmetall awarded contract to supply Gepard 35mm ammunition to Ukraine
The 35mm HEI-T ammunition will be used against air targets. (Photo: Rheinmetall)
Ukraine is operating ex-German Army Gepard air-defence guns donated more than two years ago.
Rheinmetall has been contracted by the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence to supply 180,000 rounds of 35mm High Explosive Incendiary with Tracer (HEI-T) ammunition for use with 55 Gepard anti-aircraft gun which have already been supplied.
The order value is described by the company as “in the high double-digit million Euro range” and is being funded by Germany. Rheinmetall received an order in February 2023 to supply 300,000 rounds of Gepard ammunition to Ukraine.
The Gepard guns supplied by Germany more than two years ago were weapons decommissioned by the German Army.
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The ordered ammunition is designed for use against a range of airborne targets, such as uncrewed aerial systems and it will be produced at Rheinmetall’s site in Unterlüß where a production line was reopened in 2023 to meet surging demand.
Rheinmetall’s factories have been running hot to meet demand from Ukraine for mortars, rockets and shells for use on the frontline against Russian forces and has also supplied various air defence systems such as Skynex.
The German company has been supplying billions-of-dollars in equipment and munitions since the start of the war.
Notably, Rheinmetall was contracted in December to provide more Marder 1A3 infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) to Ukraine, along with several tens-of-thousands of 155mm propellant charge modules of various types.
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