The armaments group Rheinmetall wants to build a tank factory in Ukraine. Negotiations are currently underway, says CEO Papperger. Up to 400 main battle tanks of the new Panther type could be created in this way.
Armin Papperger, head of the Rheinmetall armaments group, is negotiating the construction of a tank factory on Ukrainian soil. "A Rheinmetall plant can be built in Ukraine for around 200 million euros, which produces up to 400 Panthers a year. Talks with the government there are promising and I hope for a decision in the next two months," said Papperger "Rheinische Post". The plant could be protected against Russian air raids. "Anti-aircraft protection would not be difficult."
Ukraine needs 600 to 800 tanks to win. In order for the crowd to come together, the construction of new tanks would have to start quickly. Papperger: "Even if Germany were to hand over all of the 300 Leopard 2 tanks available to the Bundeswehr, that would be far too few. As a solution, we can start series production of the new Panther battle tank, which we have developed independently, in 15 to 18 months in Germany and Hungary start and later build up to 400 pieces a year."
Rheinmetall is making 250 tanks available in connection with the Ukraine war: "Work is in full swing here: We have already made more than 40 Marder infantry fighting vehicles operational, and by the end of the year there will be around 100. Of the 50 Leopard 2A4s, around 30 are tanks In addition, there are around 100 older Leopard 1 designs, of which we can currently make 88 usable again. Rheinmetall will therefore have almost 250 tanks in the next twelve months alone. Many of these vehicles will be exchanged with the Czech Republic and Slovakia, some go to the Bundeswehr, some to Ukraine."
Papperger expects the war to last "probably for years to come." He explains this as follows: "The western allies are sending enough weapons there so that Ukraine can defend itself, but the Ukrainians do not have enough equipment today to completely retake their territory. At the same time, Russia does not have as high resources as the West as a whole , but so far I have not seen that the leadership around Putin is cutting back on its aggressive course towards Ukraine. We can only resolve this balancing act by providing much more consistent support for Ukraine."
