Rheinmetall, a German industrial group, has plans to establish a repair centre in Ukraine for Leopard tanks and other military equipment supplied by Germany, as per the company's CEO, Armin Papperger. The repair centre is expected to begin operations after the summer break, with Rheinmetall already training Ukrainian personnel in Germany for the job. Berlin has provided approximately 20 Leopard 2A6 tanks to Kyiv, and setting up the repair hub in Ukraine would reduce transportation distances.
However, this move also raises security concerns, as a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin previously threatened to target any facility Rheinmetall establishes in Ukraine. In May, Rheinmetall formed a joint venture with Ukrainian state-owned conglomerate Ukroboronprom to manufacture and repair tanks in Ukraine. Additionally, the company established maintenance and logistics hubs in Romania and Lithuania to support NATO vehicles in the Baltic states in April and June 2022.
In other news about the company, Australia has strengthened its ties with South Korea by granting Hanwha, the artillery giant, a contract valued 3.38 billion USD to provide infantry fighting vehicles to replace the country's outdated M113 fleet, which means that Rheinmetall just lost a battle for a rather important deal. The LAND 400 Phase 3 project, one of the largest capability acquisition projects in the Army's history, will see the first vehicle delivered by early 2027 and the final vehicle by late 2028, accelerated by the current government compared to the previous government's plans. The contract award is a significant victory for Hanwha.
