The Spanish government has placed an order with Rheinmetall for a total of 94,200 155 mm artillery rounds for the Spanish Army, the company announced on 13 March 2024.
The framework agreement concluded for this purpose is worth around EUR 208 million, according to Rheinmetall. The ammunition is to be delivered to the Spanish Army between the end of 2024 and the end of 2025, with a two-year extension option.
According to Rheinmetall, this is a second framework agreement that covers the supply of ammunition that is already being used by the Spanish customer. This and the type designation for the ammunition to be supplied, ER02A1, identify Rheinmetall Expal Munitions as the supplier. Rheinmetall acquired Spanish ammunition manufacturer Expal in August 2023.
ER02A1 high-explosive (HE) projectiles have a maximum range of 30 km in the boat-tail (BT) variant and almost 40 km in the base-bleed (BB) variant. The latter has a special device at the base of the projectile that heats the air flow generated by the projectile in its trajectory, thus reducing drag and increasing the maximum range.
As well as acquiring Expal in Spain, Rheinmetall has been increasing its capacity to produce ammunition elsewhere: on 12 February 2024 a ground-breaking ceremony took place for a new plant in Unterlüß, Lower Saxony, which will produce explosives and components for rocket artillery as well as artillery ammunition in particular; while on 18 February 2024 Rheinmetall and a Ukrainian partner company signed a memorandum of understanding that will enable the future production of artillery ammunition in Ukraine.
