03 Sep 25. Rheinmetall builds facility for destroying legacy ammunition. For the future to come, Rheinmetall is planning to destroy large quantities of legacy ammunition in the district of Dillingen an der Donau, Bavaria/Germany. As part of explosive ordnance disposal projects in offshore and onshore areas, the Düsseldorf-based technology corporation intends to destroy not only legacy munitions from the two world wars, but also so-called ‘newer stockpiled ammunition’, and to take over the disposal of old stocks of the Bundeswehr and other NATO forces. An estimated 1.6 m tonnes of legacy munitions are believed to be on the seabed of the North Sea and the Baltic Sea alone. These include artillery shells, land and sea mines as well as aircraft bombs. In addition, over 2 m tonnes of bombs were dropped on Germany and the occupied territories during World War II. In southern Germany alone, it is estimated that there are still more than 20,000 tonnes of old ammunition that needs to be deactivated and disposed. Rheinmetall has acquired a site covering around 41 hectares on Lerchenberg, which is part of the Bavarian municipality of Zusamaltheim. The ammunition disposal facility is scheduled to commence operation in early 2026. The property, which also served as a Bundeswehr depot in the past, also has 32 bunkers that can store up to 900 tonnes of net explosive mass. In April of 2025, Rheinmetall had already acquired the ammunition recovery company Stascheit GmbH, based in Gardelegen, Saxony-Anhalt. Its main activities include the detection, evaluation, recovery and destruction of explosive ordnances, for example in connection with offshore wind farms. Like the new facility on Lerchenberg, Stascheit GmbH will also be integrated into the Projects & Services business unit of Rheinmetall AG.
29 Aug 25. Colt buys majority stake in $1bn gunpowder ingredient maker.
- Summary
- Colt buys majority stake in Synthesia Nitrocellulose
- Step toward larger-calibre ammunition market
- Energetic nitrocellulose in high demand as Europe rearms
Czech-based firearms maker Colt CZ Group SE has agreed to buy a majority stake and potentially all of the shares in Synthesia Nitrocellulose, in a deal valuing the Czech gunpowder ingredient maker at 22 bn crowns ($1.05 bn). Colt, which also has operations in the United States, Canada, Sweden, Switzerland and Hungary, said on Friday the deal with privately-owned chemicals group Synthesia would help to secure its supply chain and expansion into larger calibres, which are in high demand amid Europe’s rearmament drive. (Source: Reuters)