BELFAST — German weapons manufacturer Rheinmetall said today that its fiscal year 2026 sales are set to be valued at up to €14.5 billion ($16.8 billion), should a projected annual increase of 45 percent stay on track.
The firm also announced in a related statement that it is to sell commercial automotive assets to “focus entirely” on defense business.
Backed by what the company framed as a “broad product range,” the statement added that Rheinmetall is “meeting the armed forces’ significantly increased demand for operational equipment, particularly for ships, vehicles and ammunition.” The Dusseldorf-based prime is also eyeing “future growth areas” like digitalisation, drone and satellite technologies to further support customer requirements.
The company reported “consolidated sales” of €9.9 billion in 2025, a year-on-year jump of 29 percent, and also set a new backlog record valued at €63.8 billion, “thanks to major high-volume orders.”
The “tense security situation underpins the promising position of the Group [Rheinmetall’s parent business and subsidiaries] whose products are playing an increasingly important role for the increase in defence capabilities in Germany and its partner countries,” added the statement.
Based on what Politico reported as German budget planning for 2026, Rheinmetall is on course to secure new domestic orders amounting to €32 billion with company subsidiaries and joint ventures similarly in line to receive €56 billion. Under the $439 billion spending effort, Berlin is purportedly seeking Rheinmetall supplied weapon systems covering 687 Puma infantry fighting vehicles, over 500 Skyranger 30 mobile air defense platforms and 12 Luna NG reconnaissance drones.
Last week, a spokesperson for the German Ministry of Defence declined to comment on the Politico report, telling Breaking Defense that “internal plans for the development of the armed forces and capabilities are classified for reasons of military security.”
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Set against Europe’s wider military build up push, “Business with the German Armed Forces, who are investing heavily in equipment, is becoming increasingly important,” noted Rheinmetall’s statement. Across 2025, the share of company sales from Berlin amounted to 38 percent, an increase over 2024’s 4 percent.
Last year, Rheinmetall pushed ahead with expansion into the naval domain and took on a sharper focus to space-based activities. The strategy included acquiring local shipbuilder Naval Vessels Luerssen, alongside securing a €1.7 billion contract to develop a new synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite constellation in partnership with Finland’s ICEYE.
Amid strained transatlantic political tensions, Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger warned in an interview with Breaking Defense last year that Germany must not develop an inferiority complex with the US if it is to deliver on an urgent European-wide rearmament program and become a “reliable partner” to Washington.