“Ukrainian housewives with 3D printers.” Rheinmetall CEO criticizes Ukrainian drone manufacturers (UPD)

The head of the German weapons manufacturer Rheinmetall Armin Papperger said that there is nothing innovative about Ukrainian drones, and compared their production to "playing Lego".

This is stated in the Atlantic article.

When Atlantic journalist Simon Schuster asked Papperger what Ukraineʼs progress in drone production would mean for his business model, he became indignant and asked who the largest drone manufacturers in Ukraine were.

Shuster cited Fire Point and Skyfall as examples, to which Papperger called them "Ukrainian housewives" who "have 3D printers in their kitchens and produce parts for drones".

“It’s like playing with Lego. What’s the innovation in Ukraine? They don’t have any technological breakthrough. They innovate with their little drones and say, ʼWow!’ And it’s great. So what? But it’s not the level of technology of Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics or Rheinmetall,” he said.

UPD at 7:15 PM: Later, Simon Schuster said in his X that he had spoken with a representative of Skyfall, one of the leading drone manufacturers in Ukraine, about Pappergerʼs words and conveyed his reaction.

"If a drone created by Ukrainian ʼhousewivesʼ is enough to destroy tanks and artillery... I think the era of housewives has officially arrived," Shuster quoted his interlocutor as saying.

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