Rheinmetall to ramp up Baltic presence with Lithuania munitions plant

MILAN — German defense contractor Rheinmetall is set to expand its footprint in the Baltic region with the construction of an artillery shell factory in Lithuania.

The Lithuanian government and Rheinmetall have signed a memorandum of intent to build a 155mm ammunition plant in Lithuania, the country’s Ministry of Economy and Innovation said in a statement on April 16.

“This factory will be important for Lithuania, Ukraine and our entire region, in turn, the government will do everything so that it can start operating as soon as possible,” Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė said.

The official warned that Russia would remain the “biggest threat to Europe” for decades to come.

Lithuania’s minister of economy and innovation, Aušrinė Armonaitė, said at a press conference that construction of the plant would begin later this year.

According to the Lithuanian news network LRT, a state-owned piece of land in the northern part of the country has already been identified as a possible site.

The plan to host Rheinmetall is part of a larger series of amendments by Lithuanian economic authorities to the regulations that govern major defense projects. The reforms allow major weapons companies to move their production to Lithuania and speed up the operationalization of their factories.

Armonaitė said the idea is to “attract investors who will manufacture weapons here, reducing our dependence on ones purchased from international markets.”

Existing investment laws require foreign contractors or manufacturers to invest at least $30 million in Vilnius or $20 million elsewhere in the Baltic state.

A somewhat similar process was launched by neighbor Estonia, which is attempting to position itself as the region’s future ammunition hub .

Tallinn announced plans to create an industrial complex with infrastructure for national or foreign companies to produce small, medium and large caliber ammunition.

In a December 2023 interview with Defense News, the Estonian undersecretary for defense policy, Tuuli Duneton, said Estonia lacks domestic ammunition production, making the country entirely dependent on others.

“We are trying to change that,” she said.

Elisabeth Gosselin-Malo was a Europe correspondent for Defense News. She covers a wide range of topics related to military procurement and international security, and specializes in reporting on the aviation sector. She is based in Milan, Italy.

米兰——德国国防承包商莱茵金属公司计划在立陶宛建造一座炮弹工厂，以扩大其在波罗的海地区的业务版图。

立陶宛经济与创新部4月16日发表声明称，立陶宛政府与莱茵金属公司签署了一份意向备忘录，将在立陶宛建造一座155毫米弹药厂。

立陶宛总理英格丽达·西蒙尼特表示：“这家工厂对立陶宛、乌克兰乃至整个地区都非常重要，政府将尽一切努力使其尽快投入运营。”

这位官员警告说，在未来几十年里，俄罗斯仍将是“欧洲面临的最大威胁”。

立陶宛经济与创新部长奥什里内·阿莫奈特在新闻发布会上表示，该工厂的建设将于今年晚些时候开始。

据立陶宛新闻网络 LRT 报道，该国北部一块国有土地已被确定为可能的选址。

立陶宛经济当局对重大国防项目相关法规进行一系列修订，其中包括引进莱茵金属公司的计划。这些改革措施允许大型武器公司将生产转移到立陶宛，并加快工厂的投产速度。

阿莫奈特表示，此举旨在“吸引投资者在这里生产武器，从而减少我们对从国际市场购买武器的依赖”。

现行的投资法要求外国承包商或制造商在维尔纽斯至少投资 3000 万美元，或在波罗的海国家的其他地方投资 2000 万美元。

邻国爱沙尼亚也启动了类似的进程，试图将自己定位为该地区未来的弹药中心。

塔林宣布计划创建一个工业园区，为国内外公司提供基础设施，用于生产小口径、中口径和大口径弹药。

2023 年 12 月，爱沙尼亚国防政策副部长图利·杜内顿在接受《防务新闻》采访时表示，爱沙尼亚缺乏国内弹药生产能力，使该国完全依赖其他国家。

“我们正在努力改变这种状况，”她说。

伊丽莎白·戈斯林-马洛曾任《防务新闻》欧洲通讯员。她的报道涵盖军事采购和国际安全等广泛领域，尤其擅长航空领域的报道。她常驻意大利米兰。