The warning sign is already in Cyrillic script: Please do not wipe over the germanium plate, otherwise the thermal imaging sensor will be damaged. Marius Meyering is standing next to the turret of the Marder infantry fighting vehicle, which is currently being repaired in Hall 3.91 and is soon to be delivered to Ukraine. "The vehicles were in a pitiful condition, but when they go out here, they are ready for war," says Meyering. He is Rheinmetall's sales manager for tactical vehicles.

Jonas Jansen

Business correspondent in Dusseldorf.

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When he himself was still in the Bundeswehr, he practically grew up on the Marder, from driver to gunner to commander. Here in Unterlüß, one of the largest sites of the armaments group Rheinmetall, ten Marder are currently being renewed every month, and Rheinmetall has just received an order from the Federal Ministry of Defense for 20 more tanks, which are to be delivered to the country attacked by Russia by the end of July.

No cosmetic repairs – shoot and drive

The marten must be able to shoot and drive perfectly after repair, this is the main goal. For this purpose, in addition to the welding work, every cable and the electrical system, among other things, are checked. "Cosmetic repairs are not a focus," says Meyering. Although the marten is so old, it is popular at the front because even the 30-millimeter projectiles of the Russians cannot penetrate it head-on.

40 Marders have already been delivered to Ukraine, 20 of them from Rheinmetall. The armaments company is offering another 60, which it is currently renewing. Just as for the Leopard 2 main battle tank, the Düsseldorf-based Dax group ordered the spare parts a year ago, when the orders were not yet available. Slowly, speed is coming into the orders – and repairs, welding and hammering are carried out in every hall. Especially the Marder, which have been used by the Bundeswehr since the seventies, stood around for more than 10 years in the Rockensußra tank recycling center, often with an open hatch. "All the martens had to be demoulded first," says Meyering. Rheinmetall had once bought back the discarded tanks. Now trade is going the other way.

In the Lower Saxony heathland, it becomes clear how strongly Rheinmetall has expanded its production since the outbreak of the war. Incoming orders increased by 2022 percent to 18.5 billion euros in 6, and sales are expected to rise to between 2025 and 10 billion euros by 11, and operating profit has also recently grown at a double-digit rate. The plant employs 2400 people and is expected to reach 2600 by the end of the year. Rheinmetall is investing more than 50 million euros in the site, also to significantly expand capacity.

How the largest ammunition factory works

From the 15-kilometer firing range next door, a bang can be heard regularly when the 120-millimeter ammunition for the Leopard tank is tested again. In the halls next door, the main battle tanks are also being prepared, which will go to Slovenia and the Czech Republic in a ring exchange. In addition, self-propelled howitzers will be assembled, Lynx vehicles will be manufactured for Hungary and older Puma infantry fighting vehicles will be retrofitted to the new state of the art.

On the other factory premises, a few kilometers away, tube blanks of Leopard tanks and self-propelled howitzers worth several million euros lie on the floor in Hall 74. The fact that the armaments company has invited to one of its very rare factory tours is also to be understood as a signal to politicians to show what is happening. "Faster arms production is the order of the day," the Bundestag's military commissioner, Eva Högl (SPD), recently said, accusing the industry of leaning back. Rheinmetall wants to contradict this impression, especially with the fact that a lot of capital flowed into production before there were orders.