{"id":7007,"date":"2026-08-02T10:35:00","date_gmt":"2026-08-02T15:35:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/okdiario.com\/techy\/en\/?p=7007"},"modified":"2026-08-01T20:24:38","modified_gmt":"2026-08-02T01:24:38","slug":"for-the-first-time-outside-america-atacms-missiles-will-be-built-in-germany-by-lockheed-and-rheinmetall","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/okdiario.com\/techy\/en\/for-the-first-time-outside-america-atacms-missiles-will-be-built-in-germany-by-lockheed-and-rheinmetall\/7007\/","title":{"rendered":"For the first time outside America, ATACMS missiles will be built in Germany by Lockheed and Rheinmetall"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Lockheed Martin and Rheinmetall signed a memorandum of understanding on July 7, 2026, to move toward producing ATACMS missiles at Rheinmetall\u2019s Unterluess site in northern Germany.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The proposal could give NATO members a closer and more dependable source of one of the alliance\u2019s most closely watched precision weapons. But it also places Europe\u2019s defense buildup under a different kind of spotlight, since a larger missile industry<\/a> brings questions about energy use, hazardous materials, waste, water and the protection of nearby habitats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A first, but not a finished deal<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The agreement is backed by the U.S. and German governments and is intended to lead to a joint venture. That future company would create a European center for manufacturing, integrating and distributing ATACMS to NATO members and allied countries. Lockheed Martin called the partnership a \u201cwatershed moment\u201d for allied industrial cooperation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Also Read: For the first time outside America, ATACMS missiles will be built in Germany by Lockheed and Rheinmetall<\/a><\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Still, this is a memorandum, not a final production contract. No investment figure, annual output target or confirmed date for the first German-built ATACMS was announced, while Lockheed Martin said its existing line in Camden, Arkansas, will continue operating until the transition is complete. That distinction matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why Unterluess matters<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Rheinmetall is not starting with an empty field. Its Unterluess complex has operated for more than 125 years, employs about 4,000 people and includes weapons, ammunition and tracked-vehicle work, along with what the company describes as Europe\u2019s largest privately owned firing range.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A major artillery ammunition plant opened there in 2025, and a separate rocket motor factory is nearing completion. Rheinmetall expects rocket motors and guided missile components<\/a> to begin production as early as 2027, giving the planned ATACMS project an industrial base that is already expanding. The specific ATACMS production date, however, remains open.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"An
Lockheed Martin and Rheinmetall have signed an agreement to produce ATACMS missiles in Unterluess, Germany, marking the first time the system will be built outside the U.S.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What the missile does<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

ATACMS is a mobile, surface-to-surface guided missile that can reach targets up to about 186 miles away. U.S. Army material places it at 13 feet long and between 3,000 and 3,600 pounds, depending on its load, while Lockheed Martin describes a 500-pound-class blast fragmentation warhead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The missile can be fired from both the wheeled HIMARS launcher<\/a> and the tracked M270 system. By formal military classification, it is a short-range ballistic missile, but for troops on the ground it provides long-range precision fire against land targets. One mobile launcher can threaten sites far beyond the reach of conventional tube artillery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Europe\u2019s supply chain reset<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The deal comes after wars in Ukraine and the Middle East placed heavy pressure on Western ammunition inventories. At the Ankara summit, the ATACMS plan formed part of a wider group of defense agreements worth more than $50 billion, showing how quickly NATO\u2019s industrial priorities are shifting from efficiency in peacetime to capacity and resilience<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Also Read: Sweden is sending Ukraine 16 Gripen jets with 200-km missiles, and Russia\u2019s air-defense map may have to adjust<\/a><\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Producing missiles in Germany<\/a> could reduce Europe\u2019s dependence on a single American manufacturing base and shorten some delivery routes. It may also keep more engineering work, supplier spending and skilled jobs inside Europe. Yet neither company has published an estimate showing how much transportation, cost or carbon would actually be saved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The environmental test<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Production of guided missiles and rocket motors brings metalworking, electronics, propellant and testing into one industrial chain. That is why power demand<\/a>, emissions controls, water use, chemical handling and waste disposal matter, even when the strategic argument for new capacity is strong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rheinmetall says its newer munitions factory designs include energy and emissions<\/a> planning as well as environmental controls. The trouble is, the ATACMS announcement contains no project-specific estimate for carbon emissions, water consumption or waste. Without those figures, claims about a cleaner local supply chain remain unproven.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Lockheed Martin and Rheinmetall have partnered to manufacture ATACMS missiles in Germany, marking a first outside the United States.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Rheinmetall has previously said it intends to make the group carbon neutral by 2035 and cut water use by about 10%. Those are company-wide ambitions, not guarantees for this missile line. NATO has also developed a method to map emissions from military activities and installations, saying the data can help guide investment and efficiency decisions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A factory inside a sensitive landscape<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There is another unusual detail at Unterluess. Rheinmetall says about one-third of the site\u2019s testing grounds is designated as a nature reserve, even as the larger complex supports ammunition production and live-fire work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Also Read: The United States and its allies are moving to build missiles and drones closer to Asia\u2019s flashpoints, and the shift reveals how seriously the next conflict is being planned<\/a><\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

That makes environmental permits and long-term monitoring more than paperwork. Expansion will have to show that new buildings, transport, testing and industrial processes do not undermine the habitats the company says it protects. Security and conservation are not automatically incompatible, but neither can be taken on trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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