Germany’s defence industry giant Rheinmetall on Thursday confirmed for the first time its plans to build an artillery ammunition plant in Lithuania.
“A new plant will be built in Ukraine and another artillery ammunition plant will also be built in Lithuania” Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger told a press conference in Germany on Thursday, presenting the company’s 2023 results.
Rheinmetall representatives had discussed the investment plans with Lithuanian Economy and Innovation Minister Aušrinė Armonaitė at the end of January, and with Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonyte in November last year, but did not comment publicly on their intentions then.
Armonaitė said in January that intensive and “very detailed” talks were taking place with Rheinmetall.
Commenting on the news, Lithuanian Defence Minister Arvydas Anušauskas said that this means “both job creation and investments in our economy, usually accompanied by the involvement of other companies”.
“I am pleased with the joint involvement of the Lithuanian authorities in this key defence project,” he added.
However, Armonaitė told BNS on Thursday that no official agreements had been signed yet.
“Both sides need to do a lot of work. We are working,” she said.
The 15min online news site reported earlier that the new facility could produce NATO-standard 155 mm artillery shells.
In 2022, Rheinmetall and Krauss-Maffei Wegmann, another German defence industry company, set up a joint venture in Lithuania, named Lithuania Defence Services (LDS), for maintaining and repairing combat vehicles for NATO allies stationed in the Baltic Sea region and German-made military equipment sent to Ukraine.
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