Germany set to become first international site for ATACMS missile production

VIENNA — Lockheed Martin and Rheinmetall have signed an agreement to co-produce the U.S. Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) at Rheinmetall’s Unterlüß site in northern Germany, marking the first time the ballistic missile is set to be manufactured outside the United States.

The memorandum of understanding, announced at the NATO Summit Defense Industry Forum in Ankara, was backed by both the U.S. and German governments and is described by the companies as a step toward a joint venture that would create a European “centre of excellence” for manufacturing, integrating and distributing ATACMS to NATO and allied forces.

Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger called Unterlüß’s selection a way to strengthen “the industrial base in Germany for modern defense systems,” while Lockheed Martin’s European chief, Dennis Goege, framed the deal as pairing “proven U.S. technology with European manufacturing strength.”

Unterlüß, a 125-year-old Rheinmetall site employing roughly 4,000 people, has been expanding rapidly: a new artillery-ammunition plant opened last year, and a rocket-motor factory now nearing completion is slated to begin producing motors and guided-missile components as early as 2027. That timeline tracks with earlier statements from Papperger, who in May said full missile production would start in 2027 and scale up through 2028 and 2029 to meet what Rheinmetall estimates is annual European and Ukrainian demand of 600 to 800 ATACMS units.

The move addresses a real bottleneck. Lockheed Martin has been winding down ATACMS output at its Camden, Arkansas, plant as it prioritizes the newer Precision Strike Missile, which is set to eventually replace ATACMS in the U.S. arsenal − even as European and Ukrainian demand for the older missile remains high.

Once implemented, the site in Germany will be the first non-American location to produce ATACMS missiles. Lockheed says it will keep running the Arkansas line until the transition to European production is complete.

The Rheinmetall-Lockheed partnership has been building for over a year: the two firms first signed a missile-cooperation MOU in 2024, expanded it in April 2025 to cover a broader “Center of Competence” for missiles and guided weapons, and by last August were already discussing ATACMS and Hellfire specifically for Unterlüß. Whether Tuesday’s MOU translates into an approved joint venture still depends on U.S. government sign-off, since ATACMS technology transfer requires Washington’s consent.

Linus Höller is Defense News' Europe correspondent and OSINT investigator. He reports on the arms deals, sanctions, and geopolitics shaping Europe and the world. He holds master’s degrees in WMD nonproliferation, terrorism studies, and international relations, and works in four languages: English, German, Russian, and Spanish.

维也纳——洛克希德·马丁公司和莱茵金属公司签署了一项协议，将在莱茵金属公司位于德国北部翁特吕斯的工厂共同生产美国陆军战术导弹系统（ATACMS），这标志着弹道导弹首次在美国境外生产。

该谅解备忘录在安卡拉举行的北约峰会国防工业论坛上宣布，得到了美国和德国政府的支持。相关公司称，该备忘录是朝着成立合资企业迈出的一步，该合资企业将创建一个欧洲“卓越中心”，用于制造、集成和分发ATACMS给北约及其盟军。

莱茵金属公司首席执行官阿明·帕佩格尔称，选择翁特吕斯是为了加强“德国现代国防系统的工业基础”，而洛克希德·马丁公司欧洲区负责人丹尼斯·戈格则将这笔交易描述为“将成熟的美国技术与欧洲的制造实力相结合”。

位于翁特吕斯的莱茵金属公司拥有125年的历史，雇佣了约4000名员工，近年来发展迅速：一家新的炮弹工厂于去年投产，一家火箭发动机工厂也即将竣工，预计最早将于2027年开始生产发动机和导弹部件。这一时间表与帕珀格此前的说法相符。帕珀格在5月份曾表示，导弹全面投产将于2027年开始，并在2028年和2029年逐步扩大规模，以满足莱茵金属公司估计的欧洲和乌克兰每年600至800枚ATACMS导弹的需求。

此举解决了一个实际的瓶颈问题。洛克希德·马丁公司一直在逐步减少其位于阿肯色州卡姆登工厂的ATACMS导弹产量，因为该公司优先发展新型精确打击导弹，后者最终将取代ATACMS导弹在美国武库中的地位——尽管欧洲和乌克兰对这种老式导弹的需求仍然很高。

一旦建成，位于德国的该工厂将成为首个生产ATACMS导弹的非美国基地。洛克希德公司表示，在完成向欧洲生产的过渡之前，将继续运营位于阿肯色州的生产线。

莱茵金属公司与洛克希德·马丁公司的合作已酝酿一年多：两家公司于2024年首次签署导弹合作谅解备忘录，并于2025年4月将其扩展至涵盖更广泛的导弹和制导武器“能力中心”，到去年8月，双方已开始就“下吕斯”导弹的ATACMS和“地狱火”导弹进行具体磋商。周二签署的谅解备忘录能否最终转化为正式的合资企业，仍需美国政府批准，因为ATACMS的技术转让需要华盛顿方面的许可。

林努斯·霍勒是《防务新闻》的欧洲记者和开源情报调查员。他报道影响欧洲乃至全球的军火交易、制裁和地缘政治。他拥有大规模杀伤性武器不扩散、恐怖主义研究和国际关系三个硕士学位，并精通英语、德语、俄语和西班牙语四种语言。