Bundeswehr calls off more 155 mm ammunition under framework agreement

The German Bundeswehr has again called off 155 mm artillery ammunition from Rheinmetall under its framework agreement with the company, Rheinmetall announced on 18 December 2023.

The order is worth a three-digit-million-euro amount, with deliveries scheduled for 2025, the company noted. Rheinmetall has now been commissioned to supply several tens of thousands of shells of various types for the Ukrainian armed forces.

The new call-off continues the series of artillery ammunition orders previously placed by the Bundeswehr for both the Ukrainian and German armed forces.

Rheinmetall concluded its new framework agreement with the Bundeswehr for the artillery sector in July 2023. It covers the delivery of several hundred thousand shells, fuzes and propelling charges. The new framework agreement runs until 2029 and has a potential gross order volume of around EUR 1.2 Bn (including VAT). The need to replenish stores of ammunition caused by the war in Ukraine is resulting in major artillery ammunition contracts for the company.

Rheinmetall’s family of artillery ammunition includes, among other ordnance, the high explosive (HE) DM121, the DM125 smoke/obscurant shell, the DM121 SMArt search-fuzed round (jointly developed with Diehl Defence), as well as the RH68 practice version and the range-optimised RH1901 and RH1902 smoke/obscurant shells.

The group’s product portfolio also encompasses the versatile Assegai family of 155 mm artillery ammunition made by Rheinmetall Denel of South Africa. It includes insensitive munitions (IM), conventional HE rounds, as well as smoke/obscurant, illumination, infrared illumination, and other shells. With its boat tail (BT) and base bleed (BB) configurations, the Assegai family displays a ballistic equilibrium, ensuring that the entire ammunition spectrum can be used at its maximum effective range of approximately 40 km.

Under the framework contract the Bundeswehr will be introducing the tried-and-tested Assegai ammunition family. Rheinmetall is also offering the artillery family from Rheinmetall Expal Munitions, including the 155 mm M107 and 155 mm Extended Range rounds.