Reliance Defense and Rheinmetall AG Partner to Manufacture Ammunitions

Key Highlights:

• Reliance Defense and Rheinmetall AG will be collaborating on the manufacturing of ammunition
• Manufacturing will be done in the Watad Industrial region of Maharashtra, the largest facility in South Asia
• This collaboration will bring India to the top position in global chain defense exporter

India’s Reliance Defense signed an agreement with Rheinmetall AG, a German arms manufacturer on May 22. Under this new collaboration, a new facility will be set up in Maharashtra. This facility will be supplying artillery shells and explosives to Rheinmetall AG.

This German arms manufacturing company specializes in manufacturing ammunition like armored vehicles, infantry fighting vehicles, advanced air defense systems, and other innovative ammunition technology. Rheinmetall AG’s Leopard 2A7 is one of the widely recognized battle tanks worldwide.

Reliance Defense Ltd under the collaboration will manufacture 2,00,000 artillery shells, 10,000 tons of explosives, and 2,000 tons of propellants in its Watad Industrial region in Maharashtra. This will be South Asia’s largest manufacturing facility. Both companies have not revealed much about the collaboration at present.

Through this collaboration, the Indian government’s ‘Make in India’ and ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ initiatives have also been boosted. This will be leading India in the top list of the world’s leading defense exporters. Further, this move from Reliance will make it one of the top three leading Defense exporters in India. This project is estimated to contribute to India’s defense export target of Rs 50,000 crore by 2029.

CEO of Rheinmetall AG, Armin Papperger said, “This strategic partnership of Rheinmetall with Reliance Defence led by Anil Ambani's Reliance Group illustrates our strong commitment to partner with India under the strong leadership of Prime Minister Modi.” Founder and Chairman of Reliance Group, Anil D Ambani said, “We are proud to partner with Rheinmetall AG, one of the world's most respected leaders in defense manufacturing, and to collaborate with visionary leader, Armin Papperger. This strategic partnership brings cutting-edge capabilities to India, marking a transformational moment for the country's private defense manufacturing sector.”

This collaboration between these International companies will now India among the leading Defense exporter in the global defense supply chain.