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Rheinmetall Wins Major Order for Artillery Ammunition – Order Value in the Hundreds of Millions of Euros

Tuesday, July 8th, 2025

A European NATO country has signed a multi-year contract with Rheinmetall’s subsidiary Rheinmetall Denel Munition (RF) Pty Ltd (RDM) in South Africa for the delivery of 155 mm projectiles from the Assegai family and bimodular propelling charges. The order was booked in the second quarter of 2025 and is worth several hundred million euros. Deliveries will begin in 2025 and conclude with final delivery in 2027. The order is the largest in the history of Rheinmetall Denel Munition.

The Rheinmetall Assegai 155mm projectiles and bi-modular propelling charges will be integrated into the customer’s artillery weapon systems, delivering range capability of more than 40,000m with optimal performance in the target area.

“The Rheinmetall Assegai user group is growing rapidly across the globe, and we are delighted that another customer has now also selected Rheinmetall Assegai to be delivered fast and in volume.” says Dr. Frank Dirksen, CEO of Rheinmetall Denel Munition.

Capacity

Rheinmetall continue to invest heavily into capacity enhancement of existing facilities and establishing new manufacturing facilities which provide the ability to serve the growing demand for modern 155mm projectiles and charges. Rheinmetall is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of large-calibre ammunition. The Düsseldorf-based Technology Corporation Rheinmetall has been increasing its production capacity since 2022, and aims at producing around 1.5 million 155 mm artillery shells per year by 2027.

Technology

The Assegai suite of projectiles and Charges are qualified and in-service with multiple user nations, providing interoperability and a fast-track integration into service.

The Assegai projectile suite consist of ballistically matched High Explosive, Illumination, Infrared Illumination, Smoke, Pre-formed Fragmented (PFF) and Rocket-Assisted (V-LAP) projectiles.

South African Economic Benefit

“Rheinmetall Denel Munition is a proud member of the South African defence industry, employing more than 2,500 workers across South Africa. Major multi-year contracts like this provide us the ability to continue on our growth path which contribute directly to the South African economy.” says Dr. Dirksen.

About Rheinmetall Denel Munition (RDM)

Rheinmetall Denel Munition (Pty) Ltd is jointly owned by Rheinmetall Waffe Munition GmbH (51 %) of Germany and Denel (Pty) Ltd. South Africa.

Rheinmetall Denel Munition (Pty) Ltd specialises in the development, design and manufacture of large- and medium-calibre ammunition families and is a world leader in the field of artillery, mortar and infantry systems as well as plant engineering.

Rheinmetall Denel Munition (Pty) Ltd invest and support more than 1,500 domestic suppliers including SMME’s which benefit more than 250,000 South Africans.

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What is a Reconnaissance Operations Commander?

Saturday, July 5th, 2025

This video by 2 Lt Mathieu Sly discusses the Reconnaissance Operations Commander course, one of the most challenging and rewarding training programs in the Canadian Army.

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US, Sweden Partner for CSAR Training

Saturday, July 5th, 2025

LULEA, Sweden (AFNS) —

In the challenging terrain of northern Sweden, the 57th Rescue Squadron based out of Aviano, Italy and Swedish air force rangers based out of Ronneby, Sweden, collaborated to accomplish high-stakes personnel recovery training from March 30 through June 14. What began as planned participation in the Arctic Challenge Exercise transformed into a focused bilateral mission in one of Europe’s most strategically vital regions.

“This exercise focuses on traditional personnel recovery—retrieving simulated downed pilots or isolated personnel from contested areas and safely reintegrating them into friendly forces,” explained U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Drew Guerra, 57th RQS Tactical Air Control Party joint terminal attack controller.

The 57th RQS sent a small, specialized team composed of TACP, intelligence, communications and survival, evasion, resistance and escape specialists to integrate with the Swedish air force rangers. Together, they executed live, full-mission profiles to develop and test tactics, techniques and procedures for the ever-evolving battlefield in Unmanned Aircraft Systems, counter-UAS and infiltration methods for traditional and non-traditional personnel recovery.

“We like to have [the 57th RQS] join us on as many occasions as possible, and vice versa,” said Master Sgt. Rasmus Antonsson, Swedish air force ranger troop chief. “We aim to train and compete with the best, and to us, that is the U.S. Air Force.”

The unforgiving northern terrain of swamps, hills and dense woods presents unique operational challenges. Helicopter teams must adapt to limited landing zones while ground crews navigate harsh conditions to move patients swiftly and safely.

For the 57th RQS, this environment is unfamiliar and the experience is invaluable. Training in Sweden offers critical exposure to the operational demands of northern Europe and deepens integration with Swedish partners.

“We have a great history of integration with Sweden and are always grateful for the opportunity to work with our northern allies,” said U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Matthew Doyle, 57th RQS SERE specialist. “Their constant professionalism and willingness to exchange lessons learned is a testament to our seamless partnership.”

Located near the Arctic Circle, northern Sweden offers a critical staging ground for allied operations. In the event of conflict, pre-positioned aircraft and recovery forces in the region could launch missions across the Baltic Sea faster and with greater cohesion. Thanks to this training, U.S. and Swedish teams are laying the groundwork for an integrated, ready and resilient task force in the High North.

By SSgt Brooke Rogers, 31st Fighter Wing Public Affairs

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Saab Receives Order for Ground-Based Air Defence from Sweden

Thursday, July 3rd, 2025

Saab has received an order from the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) for the mobile short-range air defence solution RBS 70 NG with missiles. The order value is approximately SEK 1.5 billion and deliveries are scheduled 2027-2028. This order was booked in Q2 2025.

The order also includes equipment which will enable the Swedish Armed Forces to integrate the system on a Mobile Short-Range Air Defence (MSHORAD) solution in the future.

“We are continuously contributing to strengthening the capabilities of the Swedish Armed Forces and Saab’s air defence systems play a vital role in keeping Sweden’s skies secure,” says Görgen Johansson, head of Saab’s business area Dynamics.

Saab’s MSHORAD system with RBS 70 NG features an automatic target tracker and a built-in night sight and provides the user with capability to defeat threats including aircraft, drones and missiles from distances of up to nine kilometers.

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MARTE – Main ARmoured Tank of Europe

Thursday, July 3rd, 2025

Key Facts:

MARTE ARGE leading a consortium of 51 entities from 11 EU Member States plus Norway

MARTE project awarded by European Commission with a grant of approximately €20 Mio. from the European Defence Fund (EDF)

Comprehensive Consortium to design the next generation, future Main Battle Tank system

Grant Agreement signed and Kick-Off-Meeting conducted: Project successfully launched

The European defense sector takes a significant step forward with the launch of the Project MARTE (acronym for Main ARmoured Tank of Europe), a cutting-edge and highly promising initiative designed to strengthen Europe’s technological autonomy by addressing the crucial asset of a Main Battle Tank (MBT) System.

Coordinated and led by MARTE ARGE GbR, a joint venture company between KNDS Deutschland GmbH & Co.KG and Rheinmetall Landsysteme GmbH, the MARTE project brings together complementary industrial partners including leading, large entities as well as MidCaps, research institutions and innovative Small and Medium Enitities (SMEs). The ambitious proposal prepared and submitted to the European Commission has been awarded with a Grant from the European Defence Fund of approximately €20 Mio. In addition to the funding granted by the European Commission, the MARTE consortium receives strong support from in total 11 Ministries of Defense (MoDs) as potential future customers. Led by the German MoD, the MoDs from the following Member States are contributing: Belgium, Spain, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Romania and Sweden. At a time of growing geopolitical uncertainty, this initiative expresses the desire for greater strategic autonomy in defense and security matters and thus MARTE represents a strategic investment in Europe’s defense capabilities.

MARTE aims to conduct study and design activities to create a future MBT-System, that adequately meets current and future threats, and the harmonized needs of the European Member States involved. By integrating innovative and disruptive technologies a resilient defense system is to be designed, tailored to the evolving challenges of modern warfare and considering lessons learned from current conflicts.

To achieve this ambitious goal, a consortium composed of 51 legal entities from 12 European Countries (11 Member States plus Norway) has agreed to contribute their respective expertise and gained experiences in the best possible way. MARTE is fostering technological innovation and leveraging cross-border collaboration.

In its role as coordinator, MARTE ARGE takes over the project coordination and manages the project with support of the consulting company Erdyn and a core team of five top-tier defense companies: KNDS Deutschland GmbH & Co.KG and Rheinmetall Landsysteme GmbH (both Germany), Leonardo SPA (Italy), Indra Sistemas SA (Spain) and SAAB AB (Sweden).

Building on their pertinent and significant know-how and know-why in the field of Main Battle Tanks, each of them manages one of the five technical Work Packages in which the project’s scope has been clustered – with all further companies (see depiction below) contributing with their relevant technical knowledge.

With MARTE ARGE and the European Commission signing the Grant Agreement, the MARTE project started on 01st of December 2024 officially. By conducting the Kick-Off Meeting on 5th and 6th of December 2024 in Stockholm, MARTE ARGE as project coordinator brought together both key stakeholders as well as all consortium partners and launched the project with great success.

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DroneShield Receives $9.7m Latin American Contract

Wednesday, July 2nd, 2025

· A $9.7 million package of three standalone contracts for a defence end customer in a Latin American (LATAM) country

· Delivery and payment due Q3-Q4 2025

DroneShield Limited (ASX:DRO) (DroneShield or the Company) is pleased to announce it has received a package of three standalone contracts for its handheld and on-the-move counter-drone systems. The contract sum is $9.7 million, with DroneShield’s privately owned in-country reseller that is contractually required to distribute the products to a defence end customer in a LATAM country. DroneShield expects to deliver all equipment throughout Q3 and Q4 2025, with cash payment expected in Q3 and Q4 2025. No additional material conditions need to be satisfied.

DroneShield has previously received two standalone contracts from this reseller for this defence customer in December 2024 and January 2025 totalling approximately $10.8 million, with all imports, deliveries, and payments handled on-time and in a highly professional manner. There is no obligation for any additional contracts from this reseller or the customer.

Pictured: DroneShield DroneSentry-X Mk2 counter-drone system

Oleg Vornik, DroneShield CEO, commented: “In 2025, DroneShield has successfully delivered products, capability, and training into the Latin American market. With a substantial pipeline, diversified over multiple countries and customers, DroneShield is anticipating further developments in 2025 in this region.”

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Chemring Group PLC: Acquisition of Landguard Systems

Monday, June 30th, 2025

Chemring is pleased to announce the conditional acquisition of Landguard Nexus Limited (“Landguard”) and its wholly owned subsidiaries Landguard Systems Inc and Landguard Systems Limited (collectively the “Landguard Group”) (the “Acquisition”). The Acquisition creates further opportunities for Chemring to enhance the growth of its Roke business.

Acquisition overview

Landguard, based in Fareham, Hampshire, designs, manufactures, and supports, software defined radio (“SDR”) systems and associated security products that enable defence, government, and law enforcement customers to protect crucial operational assets. These specialist systems include high performance tracking products operating across satellite communications, cellular networks and other radio frequency technologies, as well as SDR transceivers which provide flexible and reprogrammable radio capabilities incorporating the latest interoperability standards.

Landguard’s operational agility, and unique technologies, enables it to satisfy customer requirements across the complete product lifecycle of design, manufacturing, and after-sales operational support. The acquisition brings thirty specialist engineers to Roke in addition to a suite of market leading products, unique intellectual property and a range of complementary customer relationships. The current owner-managers of Landguard are expected to remain with Chemring following completion of the Acquisition.

The consideration of up to £20m will be satisfied by a £14m cash payment on completion, funded from Chemring’s existing bank facilities, and cash earnouts totalling up to £6m subject to certain performance targets. In the year ended 31 January 2025, Landguard’s turnover was c.£7m. The acquisition is expected to be marginally earnings enhancing in the year ending 31 October 2026.

Completion of the transaction is subject to approval under the UK National Investment and Security Act.

Opportunity and rationale

The Acquisition creates further opportunities for Chemring to enhance and accelerate growth of its Roke business whilst driving strong operational synergies. The combination of Roke’s Cyber and Electromagnetic Activities (“CEMA”) pedigree and Landguard’s modular, high-performance technologies creates a unique UK Sovereign portfolio of Defence, National Security and Law Enforcement products and capabilities that can be immediately shared with Roke’s existing Defence and National Security customers and also used to enhance its significant (>£300 million) international sales pipeline.

Michael Ord, Chief Executive of Chemring, commented:

“The acquisition of Landguard further enhances Roke’s significant operational capabilities and is further evidence of Chemring delivering its strategy of delivering growth through a combination of organic investment and bolt-on acquisitions in high-priority defence and national security markets.”

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Chemring – Norwegian Feasibility Study moves to Second Stage

Saturday, June 28th, 2025

Chemring’s 2025 interim results announcement, published on 3 June, provided an update on the joint feasibility study between the Norwegian Government and Chemring Nobel, Chemring’s Norwegian subsidiary. This study, which commenced in October 2024, was initiated to assess the feasibility of an additional new production facility to significantly increase the production of military explosives, which are crucial to multiple NATO missile and munitions systems.

The first phase of this co-funded feasibility study investigated the geographic location, infrastructure requirements and environmental considerations of building a new production facility.

Chemring is pleased to announce that the Norwegian Government has confirmed that the study will now progress to its second phase. This concept selection phase will determine the size of the facility, along with the commercial arrangements, and is expected to be finalised next year.

Michael Ord, Chief Executive of Chemring, commented:

“We are delighted that the Norwegian Government has confirmed that this important study will continue to the next phase. This decision is a further indicator of the critical need to rapidly increase capacity across the European defence industrial base.

“This decision is further evidence of Chemring delivering its strategy of delivering growth through a combination of organic investment and bolt-on acquisitions in high-priority defence and national security markets.”

www.chemring.com

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