Rheinmetall is benefiting from the plans of Germany and numerous other EU countries to invest heavily in their own armaments in response to the war in Ukraine. On the spot, the Group doubled its expected sales increase from 10 to 20 percent for the current year³. In the current debate about arms deliveries to Ukraine, Rheinmetall is also ready and waiting, eager to get as much of the cake as possible. Rheinmetall presents itself as a loyal partner and continues to work on its image as a sustainable company.

However, this ignores the fact that Rheinmetall supplies armaments and ammunition to countries where demand is high. Red lines for countries that are not supplied due to the human rights situation or participation in wars do not seem to exist. Rheinmetall arms autocrats and conflict regions. Despite the annexation of Crimea, Rheinmetall would have delivered a combat training center to Russia in 2014, where 30,000 soldiers per year were to be trained for war. When the German government prohibited it, the company filed a lawsuit.

Strategy: Becoming independent of German arms export regulations  
Since some arms exports are not always possible without restrictions under German arms export rules, the strategy in 2016 was very openly to make itself independent of German arms export regulations by internationalization (setting up partner companies or subsidiaries outside Germany) and working with local partners to create new "home markets" that would make the local industry more independent of imports⁵. From its sites abroad, Rheinmetall develops and supplies weapons and entire ammunition factories to other countries, without these deliveries having to be approved by Germany. Profits flow back to the parent company in Germany.

Besides Germany, Rheinmetall Defence has production facilities in nine other countries (Canada, USA, UK, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, South Africa, Australia and Hungary)⁶. For a long time, the sites in Italy (RWM Italia) and South Africa (Rheinmetall Denel Munition) were considered particularly relevant to the internationalization strategy. RWM Italia produces naval ammunition, bombs, guided weapons and explosives⁷. RDM, founded in 2008 by Rheinmetall and Denel in South Africa, produces mainly ammunition and ammunition components⁸. Both sites continued to supply bombs and ammunition to Saudi Arabia even after Saudi Arabia entered the war in Yemen (2015). Since 2018, no weapons may be supplied to Saudi Arabia or the United Arab Emirates via Italy. Also in South Africa deliveries to Saudi Arabia were prohibited, but the export ban is lifted again⁹. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were at times the most important customer for RDM¹⁰.

Particularly problematic: the export of entire munitions factories
A particularly problematic export of the South African subsidiary RDM is the sale of entire munitions factories to countries such as the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia or Egypt. Even though these are not directly listed in ExitArms, as SIPRI does not record these types of exports, numerous of these plants have been built worldwide to date. The Group advertises that it offers its customers turnkey ammunition factories¹¹. Rheinmetall profits not only from the construction of such factories, but also from long-term supplies, technical services and license payments. One of the most serious consequences of these exports is that it makes the recipients, most of whom are involved in wars and conflicts, less dependent on arms embargoes and that this further encourages the armament of crisis regions. With the effect that more and more weapons end up in the hands of questionable governments. The construction of such facilities therefore serves the interests of the mostly autocratic government recipients and at the same time the profit interests of the Rheinmetall Group.

Examples of known ammunition factories:

• United Arab Emirates (UAE): Back in 2008, Rheinmetall began construction of a turnkey plant in the UAE for filling grenades, mortar and artillery rounds, unguided rockets and bombs. RDM supplied the technology.18 RWM Italia and RDM provided technical and supply support for the operation¹².
• Saudi Arabia: In 2016, another such facility was commissioned at al-Karij in Saudi Arabia, which is operated by the state-owned Saudi Military Industries Corporation¹³. The munitions factory produces, among other things, the very 120 mm mortar shells that, according to Bellingcat's research, are also believed to have been used in a 2018 attack on a hospital in Hodeidah that injured or killed over 100 people¹⁴.
• Egypt: According to media reports, 2018 another plant is believed to have gone into operation in Egypt. Publicly, it is mostly referred to as a customer in North Africa¹⁵. And a recently reported order for the modernization of a production facility in the Middle East is also likely to be related to the Egyptian weapons factory¹⁶. Even if these facilities do not belong directly to Rheinmetall AG, the company is involved in the operation of ammunition factories, among other things through subcontracting, which produce hundreds of lethal projectiles every day, e.g. for the war in Yemen, which is illegal under international law. And the construction of more plants is expected in the coming years.