Data from space
Rheinmetall strives for satellite production
Wars are waged ashore, in the water and in the air. Rheinmetall offers products in all areas. And the space? Data from space are becoming increasingly important – the weapon company also knows that.
Germany’s largest armaments group Rheinmetall is strengthening its business with space satellites. After the Düsseldorf -based company bought from Finnish satellite manufacturer Iceye last year and took over certain sales rights, the production of such missiles is scheduled to start in the coming year.
The foundation of a joint venture with Iceye is planned for this, as Rheinmetall announced. A corresponding declaration of intent was signed. This new company is said to be called Rheinmetall Iceye Space Solutions, on its Rheinmetall 60 percent of the shares and Iceye 40 percent.
Neusser work is partially converted
The previous Neuss Rheinmetall plant, in which around 1,500 people are currently employed, is to be used for production. It is part of the auto supplier division of the armaments group – that is, that business area that is under pressure in view of the weakening car and ultimately a problem child of the company. The armor area of Rheinmetall, on the other hand, is growing strongly.
“With the founding of the new joint venture, we continue to join the domain space,” says Rheinmetall boss Armin Papperger. “We are not only responding to the need for space-based information ability worldwide in dispute and security forces, but also contribute to the preservation and expansion of Germany’s technology location.”
The employees at the Neuss location received a promising new perspective, according to the manager. The work, in which autoventiles have been produced, should not be completely switched to the satellite production – initially only part of the workforce should change.
Precise satellite images regardless of the weather
Iceye has a good 700 employees, so the company based in Espoo in Finnish is significantly smaller than Rheinmetall with around 30,000 employees. Iceye is about so-called SAR satellites, Sar stands for synthetic aperture radar. Compared to other satellites, you have the advantage that you can generate high -resolution images even when it rains or at night, on which very small objects can also be seen on the earth’s surface. Iceye’s satellites play a role in the Ukraine War, the Ukrainian army uses the recordings.
Rheinmetall with a strong start of the year
Rheinmetall also submitted figures for the first quarter of 2025, which were largely known at the end of April due to a stock market. Against the background of the Ukraine War and the increasing demand, the sales increased by almost half to 2.3 billion euros compared to the first quarter of 2024, the operational result also climbed by almost half to 199 million euros. If you only look at the military area, the operational result has even doubled.
Rheinmetall produces tanks, ammunition, military trucks, air defense and drones. The order books are fuller than ever. “We have to and will deliver,” says Rheinmetall boss Papperger. “We are experiencing growth that we have never had in the group and get our goal of becoming a global defense champion.”
dpa
Source: Stern
