A Leopard 1A5 tank of the Ukrainian army. Photo: Ministry of Defense of Ukraine
The new aid package includes funding to support Ukraine’s defense industry, additional resources to continue implementing the Danish F-16 fighter jet supply program to Ukraine, and weapons transfers from the country’s stockpile for Ukraine. However, the Danish Ministry of Defense did not specify the types of weapons included in this aid package.
Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said the country is trying to provide maximum support within its capabilities to meet Ukraine’s needs. The two most recent aid packages from the Danish Ministry of Defense have helped Ukraine have an additional 1.2 billion Danish krone (about 170 million USD) to invest in the defense industry.
Denmark has also sent large amounts of military equipment to Ukraine. Last August, the country signed an agreement to transfer 19 F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine. Previously, Denmark provided Ukraine with 4 AGM-84 Harpoon anti-ship missile complexes, 19 155mm Caesar self-propelled guns, several ShKH Zuzana 2 self-propelled guns, and Leopard 1A5 tanks.
* The German Army signed a contract to buy artillery shells with the Rheinmetall Group
German weapons manufacturing group Rheinmetall has just reached an agreement to supply 155mm artillery shells with a total value of up to 8.5 billion Euros to the country’s military. The agreement was signed between Director of the Federal Agency for Equipment, Information Technology and Service Support of the German Army Annette Lehnigk-Emden and representatives of the Rheinmetall Group.
The 155mm artillery shell is produced by the Rheinmetall Group. Photo: Rheinmetall
This new contract was signed on the basis of expanding the existing framework agreement, with the goal of helping the German military and allied countries replenish artillery ammunition stocks. The first deliveries are expected to take place in early 2025. The first order includes different versions of 155mm artillery shells, worth a total of about 880 million Euros.
Mr. Armin Papperger, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Rheinmetall Group, expressed excitement when talking about this agreement: “We are very excited because this is one of the largest orders in the company’s history. This contract once again affirms the leading position of the Rheinmetall Group in the field of weapons production in Germany, and is also the largest artillery ammunition manufacturing enterprise in the world. We appreciate the trust of the German Ministry of Defense in Rheinmetall shown through this order.” Mr. Papperger also confirmed that this contract will also help ensure the maintenance of operations for the Rheinmetall Group’s factory under construction in Unterlüß, Lower Saxony.
Rheinmetall’s new factory in Unterlüß will be responsible for providing all the raw materials for the artillery shell production process, from shells, detonators, explosives, to propellants. The factory aims to produce 100,000 bullets/year from the second year, and will then increase to 200,000 bullets/year.
CENTRAL WALL (the fits)