Rheinmetall and Lithuania begin building artillery ammunition plant

Rheinmetall and Lithuania are building an artillery ammunition plant in Baisogala to produce 155 mm rounds like these pictured at the company's facility in Unterlüss, Germany. (Rheinmetall)

Rheinmetall and Lithuania are beginning the construction of a 155 mm artillery ammunition plant in Baisogala, the German company and Lithuanian Ministry of National Defence announced in a joint press release on 29 November.

Šarūnas Genys, Defence Stream lead for Invest Lithuania, the Lithuanian Investment Promotion Agency, tweeted on X (formerly Twitter) on 29 November that the contracts signed included the procurement of 155 mm ammunition for the Lithuanian Armed Forces and securing a plot of land in Baisogala.

The plant is being built on a 340 ha area and will include an artillery shell and filling facility, with a production capacity of tens of thousands of 155 mm rounds a year once it is completed. It is scheduled to begin operations in mid-2026.

EUR180 million (nearly USD190 million) is being invested in the plant. Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė placed the project in the context of her country's “defence needs, the importance of the shortest possible supply chains, and strong allied partnership between Lithuania and Germany”. “By fostering large-scale investment projects and enabling local production of weaponry, we not only address national security needs but also reduce our dependence on arms procured from international markets,” Lithuanian Minister of the Economy and Innovation Aušrinė Armonaitė added.

In June Armonaitė signed an agreement with Rheinmetall regulating the establishment of the company in Lithuania, granting the project special status with urgent national security and defence requirements.

Genys said that the 29 November contract signings were a major step towards establishing a Lithuanian Centre of Excellence for Ammunition.