Interview mit Euractiv

German arms makers see opportunity in Ukraine

Seemingly every big defence company has set up an office in innovative Ukraine, and some – such as industry giant Rheinmetall – have launched full production sites in the country.

Sales to Ukraine’s embattled military aren’t the only thing driving interest. Europe’s defence contractors have also realised that the country is well on its way to becoming an important arms exporter, as Reiner Perau, the chairman of the German Chamber of Industry and Commerce in Ukraine, told Firepower. Once the war is over, Ukraine appears likely to turn into a significant defence vendor and not only a voracious consumer, and firms are looking to be a.part of it.

EU-based arms makers and officials usually cite access to real-life battle testing and advanced technological knowledge when discussing their expansion into Ukraine.

Rheinmetall launched a joint venture with a Ukrainian firm in 2023 and secured a contract to build an ammunition factory. Britain’s BAE Systems founded a similar joint enterprise shortly before. The industry – more embedded in the Ukrainian defence sector than ever before – is now looking ahead.

For now, though, Kyiv is only considering easing strict arms export restrictions in order to attract cash from Europe’s new military rearmament spending spree.

“It makes a lot of sense that if this war will eventually come to an end, to be part of this [national] ecosystem and then to grow together with Ukrainian partners to export systems from Ukraine again,” Perau said.