The German defense concern Rheinmetall has the opportunity to provide Ukraine with a large amount of ammunition for modern Leopard 2 battle tanks, which Germany and other countries will send to the Armed Forces.
This was stated in the concern, responding to the request of the newspaper Rheinische Post.
For this, the concern increased production capacity, in particular, the production of large-caliber ammunition.
Rheinmetall also noted that it has invested and continues to invest significantly in increasing the number of employees and creating new production facilities.
"We are doing everything to support Ukraine, as well as NATO and the federal government, including with the necessary ammunition," the representatives of the defense enterprise emphasized.
According to them, the increase in capacity will allow the concern to meet the ammunition needs of both the Bundeswehr and the defense forces of other countries, which are armed with Leopard 2 tanks.
On January 25, Germany officially agreed to transfer Leopard tanks to Ukraine and gave permission to other countries to do so, and the U.S. President Joe Biden announced the decision to transfer 31 M1 Abrams tanks and the necessary spare parts to support tanks on the battlefield to Ukraine.
Slovak Defense Minister Jaroslav Nadʼ said that his country is ready to immediately hand over 30 T-72 tanks to Ukraine if they are replaced by Western tanks. Slovakia is also ready to discuss the transfer of its MiG-29 fighters to Ukraine.
- The Leopard is a German main battle tank. It has been produced since 1965, then still a Leopard 1 version. Its main advantages were firepower and maneuverability. Because of this, the Leopard 1 was poorly armored and could only withstand shots from weak cannons or large-caliber machine guns.