Spain buys Rheinmetall munitions amid calls for more ammo production

MILAN — Spain has answered the urgent call for European nations to ramp up ammo production by awarding local defense contractor Rheinmetall Expal Munitions a multimillion-dollar contract for 120mm munitions and issuing tenders for 155mm artillery shells.

For months, defense officials across the continent have urged European Union members to pressure their arms industries to increase munitions production to alleviate the supply chain crisis.

In mid-December, the Spanish government published notices stating it had ordered 120mm mortar shells, illuminating grenades, smoke grenades and other related explosive material from Rheinmetall Expal Munitions. The combined value of the listed contracts is estimated at $4.67 million.

The German company Rheinmetall acquired the Spanish company, formerly known as Expal Systems, in August in a deal worth $1.3 billion. The purchased firm has continued its activities in Spain and has plans to expand.

This month, the Spanish Defence Ministry issued calls to purchase 155mm artillery ammunition as well as modular extended-range artillery loads, for which it has jointly allocated up to $531 million. It’s unclear if all the artillery shells will be for the Army.

In December, Rheinmetall announced it received a large order for 155mm ammunition valued at €142 million (U.S. $155 million). It did not identify the customer, but its news release said the order came from “a NATO partner nation whose declared intention is to support Ukraine in its defensive struggle with effective long-term military aid.”

The shells will ultimately be bound for Ukraine, with their production planned to take place at Rheinmetall Expal Munitions’ facilities in Spain, and delivery scheduled for 2025.

These developments come as the EU tries to more quickly meet Ukraine’s ammunition needs following Russia’s full-scale invasion of the country that began in February 2022. Among the different initiatives is a European Commission-led effort, dubbed Act in Support of Ammunition Production, meant to ramp up the bloc’s production capacity.

In a recent statement about the effort, the bloc’s high representative for foreign and security policy, Josep Borrell said that “the 155mm European production capacity is estimated to have already increased by 20-30% since February 2023, and is expected to reach 1 million per year in the spring of 2024.”

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——西班牙响应了欧洲各国提高弹药产量的紧急呼吁，授予当地国防承包商莱茵金属Expal Munitions公司一份价值数百万美元的120毫米弹药合同，并就155毫米炮弹发布了招标。

几个月来，欧洲各地的国防官员一直敦促欧盟成员国向其军工企业施压，要求其增加弹药产量，以缓解供应链危机。

12月中旬，西班牙政府发布公告称，已向莱茵金属公司（Rheinmetall Expal Munitions）订购了120毫米迫击炮弹、照明弹、烟雾弹及其他相关爆炸物。所列合同总价值估计为467万美元。

德国莱茵金属公司于8月以13亿美元的价格收购了西班牙公司Expal Systems（原名Expal Systems）。被收购后的公司继续在西班牙开展业务，并计划扩大规模。

本月，西班牙国防部发出采购155毫米炮弹以及模块化增程炮弹的请求，并为此联合拨款高达5.31亿美元。目前尚不清楚这些炮弹是否全部供应陆军。

去年12月，莱茵金属公司宣布收到一份价值1.42亿欧元（约合1.55亿美元）的155毫米弹药大订单。该公司没有透露客户身份，但新闻稿称，订单来自“一个北约伙伴国，该国已公开表示将通过有效的长期军事援助支持乌克兰的防御斗争”。

这些炮弹最终将运往乌克兰，计划在西班牙莱茵金属Expal Munitions公司的工厂生产，并于2025年交付。

在俄罗斯于2022年2月全面入侵乌克兰之后，欧盟正努力更快地满足乌克兰的弹药需求。在这些举措中，有一项由欧盟委员会牵头的名为“支持弹药生产法案”的行动，旨在提高欧盟的弹药生产能力。

欧盟外交与安全政策高级代表何塞普·博雷尔在最近一份关于这项工作的声明中表示，“据估计，自 2023 年 2 月以来，欧洲 155 毫米炮的产能已经增长了 20-30%，预计到 2024 年春季将达到每年 100 万门。”

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。