Rheinmetall to supply Ukraine with 180,000 ammunition for Gepard

According to information, the order for high-explosive incendiary tracer shells (HEI-T) was received in December 2024.

These munitions are designed to effectively combat aerial targets such as drones and will be manufactured at the Rheinmetall plant in Unterlüss.

To meet the growing demand for 35mm ammunition, the plant's production facilities were modernized on short notice in the spring of 2023.

Rheinmetall, together with the US, is developing software for Ukrainian drones

In the overall transition from manned to unmanned systems, it is very important that autonomous systems can interact with each other, said Lorenz Mayer, CEO of Auterion, whose software is already used by drones in Ukraine.

The Auterion operating system will allow “the customer to unify all drones on a common basis and integrate different manufacturers into a common architecture.

According to Timo Haas, Rheinmetall's digital director, there are over "two hundred different unmanned aerial systems operating in Ukraine," "military training is very expensive and time-consuming, and the compatibility of the systems is not guaranteed."

The development of a uniform operating system will ensure efficient and scalable deployment of unmanned systems.

Auterion, along with other companies, is already part of the U.S. Department of Defense’s initiative to develop an open-source standard for autonomous systems, and the company hopes its partnership with Rheinmetall will help to introduce a similar approach among NATO allies.

If “each NATO country has its own communications standard for drones, NATO will not be able to fight together,” Mayer said.