Making India a global artillery powerhouse: Reliance Defence strikes big ammo deal with Germany's Rheinmetall

Reliance Defence will supply explosives and propellants for medium and large caliber ammunition to German automotive and arms manufacturer, Rheinmetall.

 

Reliance Defence, a subsidiary of Reliance Infrastructure Limited, part of the Reliance Group led by Anil Ambani, have agreed on a "strategic partnership" with the Germany-based company in the field of ammunition, a statement from the Indian private defence manufacturing firm read.

 

"The collaboration between the companies will include supply of explosives and propellants for medium and large caliber ammunition to Rheinmetall by Reliance. Furthermore, the two companies intend to engage in joint marketing activities for selected products and are aiming to further extend their cooperation based on future opportunities," it said.

 

To aid this collaboration, Reliance Defence will set up a greenfield manufacturing facility in Maharashtra. "The manufacturing facility, one of the largest in South Asia, will have an annual capacity to produce up to 2,00,000 artillery shells, 10,000 tons of explosives and 2,000 tons of propellants. This new facility will help Reliance Defence achieve its objective of amongst top three defence exporters in the country," the statement from Reliance Group said.

 

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This marks the third major partnership for Reliance Defence after strategic alliances with Dassault Aviation and the Thales Group of France.

 

The strategic partnership will strengthen India's defence manufacturing capabilities in line with the government of India's 'Make in India' and 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' initiatives.

 

"This strategic partnership of Rheinmetall with Reliance Defence led by Anil Ambani's Reliance Group illustrates our strong commitment to partner with India under the strong leadership of Prime Minister Modi," Armin Papperger, the CEO of Rheinmetall AG, said in the statement.

 

"This strategic partnership brings cutting-edge capabilities to India, marking a transformational moment for the country's private defence manufacturing sector," Ambani said.

Defence