For three years, European countries have been funneling huge amounts of weapons to Ukraine to help Kiev fight off a Russian invasion.
Now, with reserves dwindling due to a conflict that is eating up ammunition and shows no sign of ending, a factory that opened in Germany on August 27 could go some way to replenishing supplies.
Rheinmetall has just completed construction of what it says is the largest ammunition factory in Europe.
The site, the size of five football fields, was completed in 18 months and is already producing NATO-standard 155mm artillery shells.
For Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger, who was once the target of a Russian assassination attempt, the quick completion was “very important to send a signal that we can react, that Europe and NATO are capable of reacting,” he told CNN.
Papperger promised that 25,000 grenades would be delivered to Ukraine by the end of this year and that his factory expects to produce 350,000 grenades by 2027.
