Artillerymen from the Ukrainian armed forces shooting from 122 mm howitzer D-30 into Russian positions near Bakhmut in March 2021. Credit: Shutterstock/Drop of Light

German defence prime Rheinmetall has booked a major order for 155mm artillery ammunition following a second call-off under an existing framework order with the German Government, which will see the provision of munitions to Ukraine as well as the German military.

According to a 6 October release from Rheinmetall, the company will provide “tens of thousands” of L15 rounds to Ukraine as well as conventional 155mm Assegai shells for the German Armed Forces. The order was valued “in the lower three-digit million-euro range”, with delivery scheduled to take place in 2024.

A December 2022 announcement by Rheinmetall on an order for 10,000 L15 artillery shells placed by a “European customer” was valued at around €33m ($34.8m).

In July 2023, Rheinmetall announced the signing of a new framework agreement for artillery ammunition with the Bundeswehr and the expansion of an existing agreement. The contracts encompass the delivery of several hundred thousand shells, fuses, and propelling charges.

The announcement is the latest is a series of moves by Nato members to replenish 155mm artillery ammunition stocks following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year. Ukraine is being militarily supported by Nato, with members states having provided hundreds of thousands of rounds of artillery ammunition, which has resulted in national stockpiles dwindling.

See Also:

The recently concluded framework agreement between Rheinmetall and the German Government for 155mm artillery ammunition runs until 2029 and represents gross potential order volume of around €1.2bn.

Rheinmetall’s range of artillery ammunition includes the high-explosive DM121 shell, the DM125 smoke/obscurant projectile and (jointly developed with Diehl) the DM702 SMArt sensor fuse munition, plus the RH68 practice round, and the range-optimized RH1901 an RH1902 smoke/obscurant projectiles.

The Group’s portfolio also includes the versatile 155mm Assegai family from Rheinmetall Denel Munition, which encompasses insensitive ammunition and conventional HE shells as well as smoke/obscurant, illumination, infrared illumination and other projectiles. All Assegai artillery ammunition types have a maximum range of approximately 40 kilometres.

Under the latest framework agreement, the Assegai ammunition range will now enter service with the Bundeswehr.