Rheinmetall to build artillery shell plant in Latvia for €275 million

German company Rheinmetall AG will build a plant for the production of 155 mm artillery ammunition in Latvia. The parties signed a memorandum of understanding in Hamburg on Thursday, September 25, in the presence of Latvian Prime Minister Eвіika Silinia, according to the websites of Rheinmetall and of the Latvian Ministry of Defense.

The plant will operate as a joint venture between Rheinmetall Waffe Munition GmbH (51%) and the Latvian State Defense Corporation (Valsts aizsardzības korporācija, 49%). Investments in the project will amount to 275 million euros, and in ten years, exports could reach more than 3 billion euros .

Construction is scheduled to begin in the spring of 2026 and production in 2027. The plant will create at least 150 jobs.

Rheinmetall CEO Armin Paperger said that the partnership is beneficial for both parties: it will strengthen Latvia's national sovereignty in the field of ammunition and strengthen the German company's position as a world leader in the production of artillery ammunition.

In 2014, Rheinmetall also received an order from Lithuania to build a similar plant.

• In August 2025, Rheinmetall was opening a new, Europe's largest ammunition plant in Unterlüs near Hanover. Another facility is being built in western Ukraine.
• In the same month, Rheinmetall announced its intention to build two plants in Bulgaria that will produce gunpowder and 155-mm shells.