Germany orders artillery shells for Ukraine for over $400 million

PARIS — Germany approved orders for more than $400 million worth of 155mm artillery shells for Ukraine in recent days, in separate deals with Rheinmetall and an unidentified French company.

The German army placed an order for several tens of thousands of shells for the Ukrainian armed forces under an existing framework agreement with Rheinmetall, with a value of at least €100 million, or $110 million, the company said in a Dec. 18 statement.

That follows a Dec. 14 announcement that the Defence Ministry is buying 68,000 shells for Ukraine from a French armament company for €278 million.

Ukraine is firing up to 7,000 artillery rounds per day in its war with Russia, according to a European Parliament report from November. The United States and European countries have supplied Ukraine with hundreds of artillery pieces that fire NATO-standard 155mm shells, a caliber not manufactured locally, but the European defense industry is unable to keep up requisite production rates.

Germany’s Bundeswehr ordered 155mm ammunition for a “three-digit million euro amount,” with delivery scheduled for 2025, according to Rheinmetall. The order is part of a framework agreement concluded with the company in July for delivery of several hundred thousands of shells, fuses and propellant charges through to 2029, with a potential gross order volume of around €1.2 billion.

The latest order is at least the fourth announced by Rheinmetall under the framework agreement, and it includes high-explosive, smoke and practice rounds.

Rheinmetall’s order backlog for weapons and ammunition more than doubled year-on-year to €11.3 billion through the end of September, with major orders including two multi-year framework agreements for munitions, the company reported last month. The company has said it plans a “massive increase” of output in 2024 to boost annual production capacity to around 700,000 artillery rounds.

Germany also approved the purchase of 68,000 155mm shells for Ukraine from a French company, the defense ministry said Thursday. The framework agreement with the company includes an option for as many as 350,000 rounds.

A spokesperson for the defense ministry did not respond requests for information about the French manufacturer.

The German government is looking for other ways to increase ammunition production, and is prepared to open up its national framework agreements with industry to partner countries, according to the ministry.

French artillery-shells manufacturer Nexter declined to either confirm or deny it received an order for 155mm rounds from Germany. The company plans to increase annual capacity by 50% in 2024 from 60,000 shells before the war in Ukraine, and to more than double output in 2025, Nexter spokesman Gabriel Massoni told Defense News.

Rudy Ruitenberg is a Europe correspondent for Defense News. He started his career at Bloomberg News and has experience reporting on technology, commodity markets and politics.

巴黎——近日，德国分别与莱茵金属公司和一家身份不明的法国公司达成协议，批准向乌克兰订购价值超过 4 亿美元的 155 毫米炮弹。

莱茵金属公司在 12 月 18 日的一份声明中表示，德国陆军根据与该公司现有的框架协议，向乌克兰武装部队订购了数万枚炮弹，价值至少 1 亿欧元，即 1.1 亿美元。

此前，乌克兰国防部于 12 月 14 日宣布，将向一家法国军火公司购买 68,000 枚炮弹，价值 2.78 亿欧元。

根据欧洲议会11月的一份报告，乌克兰在与俄罗斯的战争中每天发射多达7000发炮弹。美国和欧洲国家已向乌克兰提供了数百门发射北约标准155毫米炮弹的火炮，这种口径的炮弹乌克兰本土无法生产，但欧洲国防工业无法维持所需的生产速度。

据莱茵金属公司称，德国联邦国防军订购了一批价值数亿欧元的155毫米炮弹，预计将于2025年交付。该订单是莱茵金属公司7月份与德国联邦国防军签署的框架协议的一部分，该协议规定莱茵金属公司将在2029年前向德国联邦国防军交付数十万枚炮弹、引信和发射药，潜在订单总额约为12亿欧元。

最新订单至少是莱茵金属公司根据框架协议宣布的第四笔订单，其中包括高爆弹、烟雾弹和练习弹。

莱茵金属公司上月公布，截至9月底，其武器弹药订单积压额同比增长超过一倍，达到113亿欧元，其中包括两份多年期弹药框架协议。该公司表示，计划在2024年大幅提高产量，将年产能提升至约70万发炮弹。

德国国防部周四表示，德国已批准乌克兰从一家法国公司购买6.8万发155毫米炮弹。与该公司的框架协议还包含最多35万发炮弹的选购选项。

国防部发言人没有回应有关这家法国制造商的信息请求。

据德国国防部称，德国政府正在寻找其他方法来增加弹药产量，并准备向伙伴国家开放其与工业界达成的国家框架协议。

法国炮弹制造商奈克斯特公司拒绝证实或否认已收到德国的155毫米炮弹订单。奈克斯特公司发言人加布里埃尔·马索尼告诉《防务新闻》，该公司计划在2024年将年产能从乌克兰战争前的6万发炮弹提高50%，并在2025年将产量提高一倍以上。

鲁迪·鲁伊滕贝格是《防务新闻》的欧洲记者。他的职业生涯始于彭博新闻社，拥有报道科技、大宗商品市场和政治方面的经验。