COLOGNE, Germany — German defense company Rheinmetall won a contract to supply parts for 22 new Panzerhaubitze 2000 howitzers, part of a plan by the government to replenish weapon stocks previously donated to Ukraine.
Worth €135 million (U.S. $145 million), the deal was awarded by KNDS Germany, the armed force’s general contractor for the self-propelled weapon system, Rheinmetall said in a statement. Deliverables include vehicle undercarriages and L52 guns with a 155mm caliber.
Soldiers of the Bundeswehr, Germany’s armed forces, should expected to see the first completed howitzers arrive in their formations in mid-2025, according to Rheinmetall.
“This contract emphasizes Rheinmetall’s expertise as a technology leader for 155mm artillery weapons as well as a high-performing partner in tracked vehicle construction,” the company statement reads.
Germany donated 14 of its howitzers to Ukraine, a key capability especially at a time when then front line was fairly static. More recently, though, Ukrainian officials have lamented a shortage in ammunition to fire from their donated Western artillery pieces, and Russian forces have achieved some breakthroughs along the long front line in eastern Ukraine.
European nations have reacted with an unprecedented push to produce artillery munitions for Ukraine and for their own use, though some of the ramp-up in output will take years to materialize.
Sebastian Sprenger is associate editor for Europe at Defense News, reporting on the state of the defense market in the region, and on U.S.-Europe cooperation and multi-national investments in defense and global security. Previously he served as managing editor for Defense News. He is based in Cologne, Germany.
