Weapons manufacturer: Rheinmetall wants to become a “global arms champion”.

The consequences of the Ukraine war are an increasingly powerful growth engine for Germany’s largest arms company, Rheinmetall. As the company announced in Düsseldorf, group sales rose by 36 percent to 6.3 billion euros in the first nine months of this year.

The operating result even shot up by 72 percent to 705 million euros – meaning the gunsmith’s business became significantly more profitable than before. The order books are fuller than ever before, the order backlog is now at 52 billion euros – this is not just about specific orders, but also about framework contracts and other agreements that will probably result in orders.

CEO looks abroad

“Rheinmetall is needed, as our numerous order successes show,” says company boss Armin Papperger. “We are experiencing growth that we have never had before in the group.” The manager pointed to his company’s operations in other states. They have entered into forward-looking collaborations and have promising projects – for example in the USA, Great Britain, Italy and Ukraine.

In Italy, Rheinmetall wants to set up a joint venture with the defense company Leonardo to build tanks. In another cooperation, Rheinmetall wants to do this in Ukraine.

Rheinmetall aims high

According to company boss Papperger, the steep growth of the German gunsmiths will continue. There are major orders in the pipeline that will ensure further increasing sales in the coming years. You massively expand new plants and large production capacities or you make acquisitions. “This brings us closer to our goal of becoming a global arms champion.”

However, the company is still a long way away from the global top group in the weapons industry: According to a list from the Federal Statistical Office, Rheinmetall only came in 20th place in terms of annual sales in 2023. The largest arms company in the world, Lockheed Martin from the USA, makes around ten times more sales than the German company.

Rheinmetall produces tanks, artillery, anti-aircraft guns, ammunition and military trucks. Its military goods are not only used directly in Ukraine, but they are also purchased by NATO states that have felt threatened since Russia’s attack and are therefore investing significantly more money in their army than before. Rheinmetall’s headquarters are in Düsseldorf and its largest plant is in Unterlüß in Lower Saxony.

Positive consequences of the Trump election expected

According to the Rheinmetall boss, the election of Donald Trump as US President will have a positive impact on the German defense company. Trump will put pressure on the Europeans to become more independent and invest more in their defense, said Papperger at a presentation of the business figures.

He expects that the previous NATO target of investing two percent of the gross domestic product in defense will no longer be found sufficient and that the pressure to invest will increase as a result. “At the end of the day, the pressure will be on – that pressure will help us get budget money.” According to Papperger, Rheinmetall would then have opportunities for more business from all European armed forces.

The manager sees no negative effects for the German arms manufacturer’s US business, despite Trump’s “America first” attitude. “Rheinmetall will create jobs in the United States, we will produce every screw in the United States.” The feedback we received from US politicians was that this was exactly what it was about. “If you create jobs, then he (Trump) will be happy and he will protect this company.”