The German company Rheinmetall announced that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with the American company Lockheed Martin. Under this memorandum, the two companies plan to establish local production of ATACMS ballistic missiles in Germany.
These missiles are compatible with systems such as HIMARS, the M270 MLRS, MARS II, and others. The new production is planned to be launched at the Rheinmetall plant in Unterluss.
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Specifically, the new facility is expected to manufacture solid-fuel engines and other components for ATACMS missiles. Although this has not been officially announced, it is likely that the final assembly of the missiles will take place in Unterluss, using locally produced parts along with certain key components manufactured in the United States.
The new facility is important not only for meeting the needs of Germany and other European NATO countries, but likely for Ukraine as well. This is because the company's press release states that the new production facility will also meet the needs of Europe's allies, which could include Ukraine.
Given how infrequently Ukraine uses ATACMS ballistic missiles, it can be concluded that they are being supplied in extremely limited quantities. The new facility, however, could likely help remedy this situation.
According to Rheinmetall, construction of the engine plant is nearing completion. Production of solid-fuel engines and other components for ATACMS missiles is set to begin as early as 2027.
However, even though production is set to begin as early as next year, the first missiles are unlikely to roll off the assembly line before 2028, if not later, as the production cycle for modern weapons of this type takes many months. It should also be noted that production will likely not begin at full capacity and will take some time to reach its target output.
The planned production capacity also remains unknown. Current ATACMS production and refurbishment in the United States amount to only a few dozen missiles per month, and output at the German facility is likely to be somewhat lower.
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