American defense contractor Lockheed Martin is in talks with German company Rheinmetall to produce missiles, including ATACMS and Hellfire, in Germany, Defense Industry Europe reports, citing WirtschaftsWoche.
"We are already actively discussing additional production, including ATACMS and Hellfire missiles," said Dennis Goege, head of Lockheed Europe.
He also added that possible production would take place at Rheinmetall's plant in Unterlüss in northern Germany. In addition, Goege noted that the final list of missiles has not yet been determined.
In April of this year, the two companies announced plans to expand their collaboration after the expiration of a 2024 memorandum of understanding, under which Lockheed would supply missile and rocket technology and Rheinmetall would manufacture and sell missiles in Europe.
Rheinmetall, which this year began producing fuselage parts for Lockheed F-35 fighters, declined to comment on this information.
Rheinmetall is officially opening its Unterluß plant, which is expected to have a capacity of up to 350,000 artillery shells per year once fully operational in 2027.