Headquartered in Germany, defense industry giant Rheinmetall has published a financial report for the first half of 2024. The post released on August 8 mentions achievements like sales growth, or a significant income increase secured by contracts on military equipment and weapons for the German Armed Forces, partners from EU and NATO, and also for Ukraine.
Defense Express highlights the key facts related to Ukraine, including a remark about Rheinmetall's progress establishing an armor plant on the territory of this country. Specifically, the company's projects in Ukraine were outlined in one of the presentation slides.
Read more: Rheinmetall Poised to Open Armor Plant in Ukraine in Record-Breaking Time
The most interesting part is the remark that the first Lynx infantry fighting vehicle is to be handed over by the end of 2024. The presentation does not explicitly specify whether the vehicles are being built at facilities deployed in Ukraine but there's a note saying the discussions on local production are underway.
Side note, the negotiations on the Ukrainian Armed Forces acquiring Lynx have been lasting for a while now. It became a hot topic back in spring–summer 2023 when Rheinmetall announced plans to open its factory producing armored vehicles in Ukraine and established a joint venture with Ukrainian Defense Industry JSC (UDI). In June 2024, Ukraine's Minister of Strategic Industries Oleksandr Kamyshin said the talks were ongoing but without a firm agreement yet. If secured, a "large number" of Lynx vehicles could be produced in 2025, he noted.
As for other projects, Rheinmetall recalls that earlier this year it had officially opened the first repair and production site owned jointly with UDI. At this facility, Marder IFVs supplied to Ukrainian forces from Germany are being repaired, and it will provide services for Leopard 1 and Leopard 2 main battle tanks later as well.
For a reminder, in late July 2024, Rheinmetall announced plans to build a turnkey ammunition plant in Ukraine. This project was estimated to take years, with an investment in a "three-digit range in millions of euros."
Read more: Rheinmetall Will Make the Frankenstein Systems for Ukraine that Combine 2 Modern Technologies
