
Germany’s parliament has approved €540 million to buy kamikaze drones for the army, with more funding possible. The systems, shaped by lessons from Ukraine, will first equip Germany’s Lithuania Brigade.

Rheinmetall has won a high three-digit million-euro contract to supply Skyranger 30 short-range air-defence systems to the Dutch Defence Ministry. Deliveries of the mobile and dismounted systems are scheduled to begin in 2028 and conclude by 2029. The order also includes command-and-control nodes, transport platforms, simulators and logistics support for integration into the Netherlands’ existing air-defence architecture.

Global defence revenues surged to a record $679 billion in 2024, driven by the wars in Ukraine and Gaza and rising geopolitical tensions, according to new SIPRI data. The world’s 100 biggest arms makers saw sales grow 5.9 percent, with strong increases in Europe and steady dominance by U.S. firms. SpaceX entered the Top 100 for the first time, while China posted a rare decline due to procurement disruptions.

Rheinmetall aims to expand its annual turnover to around €50 billion by 2030, CEO Armin Papperger told analysts during the company’s Capital Markets Day in Unterlüss, with the German defence contractor experiencing a sharp rise in revenue since the war in Ukraine, driven by growing orders for artillery, ammunition, air defence systems and tanks.

The Leonardo Rheinmetall Military Vehicles joint venture has received its first contract to supply 21 A2CS Combat vehicles to the Italian Army, marking a major step in Italy–Germany defence cooperation and European industrial integration. The supply is part of the Italian Army’s A2CS – Army Armoured Combat System program, which plans for a total acquisition of 1,050 armoured combat vehicles to replace its current heavy vehicle fleet.

Germany plans to order over 600 Skyranger air defence systems from Rheinmetall in a deal worth more than €9 billion to strengthen its drone defence. The mobile system, now in testing, can be mounted on Boxer and Leopard 1 vehicles and is designed to counter modern aerial threats, including drone swarms.

The German cabinet approved a bill for setting up a National Security Council and introducing voluntary military service, which could turn into conscription in the absence of sufficient volunteers, of which an initial 15,000 are required with a target of 80,000, whom the government plans to entice with high salaries.