In December 2024, the Düsseldorf-based technology group Rheinmetall received an order to supply Ukraine with a further 20 Marder 1A3 infantry fighting vehicles. Delivery is scheduled for the first half of 2025. The order is worth a mid-range double-digit million euro amount. The delivery will be financed by Germany. All in all, Rheinmetall has already supplied the Ukrainian armed forces with hundreds of Marder infantry fighting vehicles.
In the 1A3 version, the Marder is equipped with an additional laser rangefinder for efficient and precise target engagement. The first 20 combat vehicles of this type were delivered by the Rheinmetall Group on behalf of the German government in March 2023. Further Marder deliveries followed, each time in double figures.
Rheinmetall began overhauling Marder 1A3 infantry fighting vehicles from its company stocks at its own expense in spring 2022. Since then, the combat vehicles have been continuously repaired and delivered for their immediate deployment. The work is being carried out at the Group’s sites in Unterlüß and Kassel.
Rheinmetall to supply Ukraine with propelling charges for 155mm artillery
Rheinmetall has been contracted by the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence to supply 155mm artillery propellant charge modules. The order, booked in Q4 2024, is worth around €9 million. It envisages the delivery of several tens of thousands of 155mm propellant charge modules of various types. They are to be delivered in January 2025.
Rheinmetall is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of large-calibre ammunition and propellant systems. In modern artillery, projectiles and propelling charges are loaded separately in order to achieve different ranges.
With extensive deliveries and support services for Ukraine, Rheinmetall is now the country’s most important defence industry partner in its defensive struggle against Russian aggression. During the ‘Ukraine Recovery Conference 2024’ in Berlin, the company and Ukraine signed a memorandum of understanding to expand their strategic cooperation. The agreement aims to identify and develop further areas for deeper cooperation between the Ukrainian defence industry and the Düsseldorf-based technology group.
Concrete projects in the planning stage include the production of artillery ammunition as well as the delivery and production of Lynx infantry fighting vehicles. In addition to possible direct deliveries by Rheinmetall, the (re-) industrialisation of national manufacturing know-how is intended to make a significant contribution to Ukraine’s sustainable defence capability.
Czech Republic orders more Leopard 2A4 main battle tanks
The Czech Republic has commissioned Rheinmetall with the delivery of further 14 Leopard 2A4 main battle tanks. A corresponding contract has been signed by Dr. Björn Bernhard, CEO of Rheinmetall Landsysteme GmbH, and Lubor Koudelka, Director General of the Armaments and Acquisition Division of the Czech Ministry of Defence.
The contract, which is financed by the Czech Republic, also includes an extensive ammunition and logistics package and is worth around €161 million net. It covers the delivery of 14 refurbished Leopard 2A4 main battle tanks by the end of 2026. These come primarily from former Swiss stocks and will be converted to a Czech-specific configuration as part of the project.
The contract that has now been signed supplements the two existing ring swap agreements, under which the Czech armed forces have already received Leopard 2A4s and in return handed over older material to the Ukrainian armed forces.
The recently commissioned ammunition and logistics package is designed to maintain the operational readiness of the fleet, which will then comprise a total of 42 Leopard 2A4 main battle tanks and two Büffel 3 armoured recovery vehicles, at a high level. With the procurement that has now been initiated, the Czech armed forces are completing the conversion of their 73rd armoured battalion from originally Soviet to German main battle tanks
A concern that I have is why is India buying so much military weapons from Russia when 1, they are the enemy and 2, Russian standards are Nowhere near as good as Western? Whose side is India on? That concerns me a lot.
India is often a mystery.