Germany will purchase 10 self-propelled, rapid-fired howitzers from Krauss-Maffei Wegmann GmbH & Co. KG in a deal worth €185 million ($200 million) that could be expanded to more than twice that amount.
(Bloomberg) — Germany will purchase 10 self-propelled, rapid-fired howitzers from Krauss-Maffei Wegmann GmbH & Co. KG in a deal worth €185 million ($200 million) that could be expanded to more than twice that amount.
The government has an option to buy 18 more of the artillery systems at a cost of about €290 million, taking the total investment to roughly €475 million, according to people familiar with the deal, who asked not to be identified discussing confidential information. The plan is expected to be approved by parliament’s budget committee at a meeting Wednesday in Berlin.
Spokespeople for the defense ministry, KMW and Rheinmetall AG — which supplies parts for the howitzers — did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The order, part of a wider upgrade of the military, will replenish Germany’s own stocks after the government in Berlin sent 10 of the howitzers to Ukraine to help it defend against Russia’s invasion.
After Kremlin forces attacked Ukraine last year, Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced the creation of a special fund worth €100 billion to try to reverse years of underinvestment in Germany’s armed forces.
The purchase of the howitzers will be financed from the regular budget, as it’s a replacement procurement and not a new investment, according to the people.
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