Rheinmetall plans to start production of armored vehicles in Ukraine in 2024
Germany's arms manufacturer Rheinmetall plans to build the first armored vehicles in Ukraine as early as 2024.
Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger said this in an interview with WirtschaftsWoche, Ukrinform reports.
According to him, Fuchs wheeled armored personnel carriers and Lynx infantry fighting vehicles will be produced initially. A corresponding contract with Ukraine should be signed at the beginning of next year.
"Once the contract is signed, we want to have the first wheel-drive vehicle ready in Ukraine after about six to seven months and the first Lynx after 12 to 13 months," Papperger said.
Thus, the production of the Fuchs in Ukraine will be possible from late summer 2024 and the Puma competitor Lynx could follow in the summer of 2025.
At the same time, Papperger noted that the newly built armored vehicles would arrive in Ukraine much earlier.
"The first ten Lynx vehicles are already being manufactured here in Germany or in Hungary in co-production between us and Ukraine," he said. "After a ramp-up phase, we should then quickly be in a position to produce a significant number of these vehicles entirely in Ukraine."
The federal government has signaled that it will grant the export license necessary for production.
Rheinmetall is already Ukraine's largest defense industry partner. The group received orders worth around EUR 900 million in 2022, and in 2023 the order volume rose to around EUR 2.5 billion.
"And next year there will certainly be more," Papperger predicted. Mass production of the Lynx is already underway in Hungary. In addition, armored vehicles will be maintained in Ukraine, and skilled workers from Ukraine have been trained in Germany for this purpose.
According to the news site, Papperger is not concerned about the security of Rheinmetall Ukraine factories.
"We are not building any new plants. We will be renting existing plants, converting them and then operating them. And they seem to be quite well protected," he said.