The German concern Rheinmetall intends to open an armored vehicle factory in Ukraine. According to the company's plans, the enterprise should work in about three months.
Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger made the corresponding statement in an interview with U.S. television channel CNN.
Rheinmetall will be located somewhere in the western regions of Ukraine. It will be managed in partnership with the Ukrainian state concern Ukroboronprom.
The cost of the plant is estimated at EUR 200 million. Its capacity should be enough to produce 400 tanks annually.
Workers at the plant will build and repair the Fuchs armored personnel carrier, Papperger said. Rheinmetall will grant a license to do so.
CNN recalled that previously the former president of the aggressor country of Russia (now deputy chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation) Dmitry Medvedev threatened to strike at any Rheinmetall enterprise in Ukraine.
Papperger believes that the enterprise can be protected from Russian attacks.
He noted that now there are many factories in Ukraine that produce certain military products.
“There are a lot of factories at the moment which are producing military goods [in Ukraine]. It is just another one — and we can protect that also,” the Rheinmetall CEO added.
Rheinmetall is a German concern formed in 1889. It is the largest manufacturer of military equipment and weapons in Germany and Europe. The concern employs almost 24,000 people, and its capitalization as of January 2023 was EUR 9.7 billion.
The most famous products of the concern are the new main battle tank (MBT) Panther KF51, armored personnel carrier TPz 1 Fuchs, infantry fighting vehicles (IFV) Marder and Puma.
The concern also produces a 120 mm gun used in M1 Abrams and Leopard 2 tanks. Also rapid-fire guns manufactured by Rheinmetall are used on American aircraft F-16 Fighting Falcon, F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning II.
As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, in early May 2023, the German publication Handelsblatt reported, citing its own sources, that Rheinmetall and the Ukrainian concern Ukroboronprom signed a contract to create an enterprise in Ukraine.
Then the publication wrote that the joint venture will be engaged in the maintenance and repair of tanks and other combat vehicles. Later it will also be able to deal with their production.
Recall that in March, the German publication Der Spiegel reported that Rheinmetall was negotiating the creation of a tank factory in Ukraine.
We also reported that the German concern Rheinmetall announced its readiness to produce up to 600,000 units of ammunition for Ukraine if it receives a corresponding contract from the European Union.
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