Germany’s largest arms manufacturer Rheinmetall expects the first batch of ammunition for anti-aircraft Gepard systems will be delivered to Ukraine by July, CEO Armin Papperger said on Monday, according to CNN.
He also announced that 20 Marder fighting vehicles will be ready to be delivered to Ukraine by the end of March.
In response to German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius's appeal to arms manufacturers to fire up ammunition production, Papperger said his company had "doubled capacities, in some sectors even tripled them".
"In weapons production, the warehouse is full, we are running at full steam here and we can still increase capacity with one shift," if contracts were made, he said.
Pistorius said the German government was working with the industry to deliver whatever was possible.
"We can deliver what we have and we can deliver what will be produced in the next months," he added.