The German Chancellor attends the laying foundation of new ammunition factory
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Defense Minister Boris Pistorius attended the groundbreaking ceremony for a new ammunition factory on Monday.
German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall will produce artillery ammunition at the new factory in the small town of Unterlos, north of Hanover.
Unterlos is already a major production site for Rheinmetall, as the Puma infantry fighting vehicle is also being manufactured there, among other equipment.
The war in Ukraine opened a new chapter for Rheinmetall, with demand for its weapons and ammunition systems is increasing at a time when European countries are seeking to increase weapons production for Ukraine and to replenish their stocks.
The European Union recently admitted that it wouldn’t be able to achieve its goal of sending one million artillery shells to Ukraine by next March.
A few days after Russian forces crossed the border into Ukraine in February 2022, the German Chancellor Olaf Scholz pledged what he called a “turning point” in German defense policy.
Scholz announced a one-time rearmament program worth 100 billion Euros (107 billion US dollars) to modernize the German army for the benefit of the national and collective defense of the European Union, but the slow pace of development is increasingly being criticized.
