Germany’s Rheinmetall May Produce Lockheed’s ATACMS, Hellfire Missiles At Europe’s Largest Artillery Plant

The Deep State’s favorite weapons giant defense contractor, Lockheed Martin – which may or may not be next on Trump’s partial nationalization schedule - wants to have German peer Rheinmetall manufacture ATACMS and Hellfire missiles in Germany, business magazine WirtschaftsWoche cited a Lockheed executive as saying.

“We are already actively discussing additional manufacturing – including for ATACMS and Hellfire missiles,” Lockheed’s Europe head Dennis Goege told WirtschaftsWoche, adding that it would take place at Rheinmetall’s expanding Unterluess site in northern Germany.

The two companies said in April they would expand their cooperation beyond a memorandum of understanding signed in 2024, with the U.S. group providing missile and rocket technology, and Rheinmetall manufacturing and selling missiles in Europe.

Goege also told the magazine that the final list of missiles had yet to be determined.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte visited the Unterluess site on Wednesday, together with German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius and Vice Chancellor Lars Klingbeil, to attend the opening of an artillery production line at what will be Europe’s biggest ammunition factory as Germany sets out to massively expand its military.

Rheinmetall has opened a new munitions factory in Unterlüss, Germany—built in just 1.5 years. Once at full capacity, it could become Europe’s largest artillery shell production site, possibly even the world’s. Output is set to hit 350,000 shells annually, with much headed to… pic.twitter.com/lniGjpcQlW

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At the plant’s official inauguration in Unterluess on Wednesday, Rheinmetall’s chief executive officer, Armin Papperger, said the company could build similar facilities in other NATO countries, “and thus build a pan-European defense ecosystem.”

“When it comes down to it, Germany can be fast,” Papperger said. “Our country takes on responsibility as part of a Europe that has to take charge of its own security more than ever.”

Rutte said plants like the new one at Unterluess are “absolutely crucial” for the NATO alliance’s own security, for maintaining support for Ukraine in its defense against Russia’s invasion and to “deter any aggression in the future.”

“Deterrence comes from the capability to indeed fight potential enemies,” Rutte added. “And Rheinmetall is extremely important here.”

According to Bloomberg, Rheinmetall broke ground for the plant, which was supposed to open in late spring or early summer this year, in early 2024 in the presence of former German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

The factory began trial operations in the second quarter of this year and will have a capacity of up to 350,000 rounds per year once it is fully operational from 2027 onwards.

It consists of two buildings, one for production of 155mm artillery shells and one for loading, assembly and packaging.

The investment volume totals around €500 million ($581 million) and more than 500 jobs will be created at the site. Rheinmetall also plans to produce rocket artillery there starting from next year.

Papperger also formally signed a contract Wednesday together with the Romanian economy minister for a new powder factory there, which he said could be completed in around 18 months.

Rheinmetall recently completed another major project in Germany, a plant in Weeze near the Dutch border, where the German defense contractor manufactures center fuselage sections for Lockheed Martin Corp’s F-35 fighter jet.

Its weapons and ammunition segment has been a major growth driver behind the company’s unprecedented rise in the past three years, recording sales of €724 million in the first half of 2025. The company’s shares are up more than 160% this year.