DÜSSELDORF, Germany — German defense company Rheinmetall expects to secure about €12.4 billion in vehicle business from Germany’s Arminius procurement programme by the end of 2026, Chief Executive Armin Papperger said during the company’s second-quarter 2026 earnings call.
The initial vehicle package could be worth nearly €25 billion, with Rheinmetall and KNDS Deutschland each receiving a 50% share through their equally owned Artec consortium. Final negotiations with the Bundeswehr are expected in the second week of September.
The contract still requires parliamentary approval. Papperger expects the Bundestag to consider the funding on December 9, with signing possible five to 10 days later. A 30% advance payment could then provide Rheinmetall with more than €3 billion in December or January.
Rheinmetall also expects about €2 billion from a separate service and support contract valued at roughly €4 billion in total. The support agreement could be concluded in January 2027, bringing Rheinmetall’s expected business from the initial phase to approximately €14.4 billion to €14.5 billion.
Further Boxer Orders
The wider Arminius programme could eventually reach a theoretical industrial value of around €77 billion, although the additional phases remain unapproved and unfunded proposals.
The first proposed follow-on option would be worth €28 billion overall, including about €14 billion for Rheinmetall, and cover around 1,700 vehicles delivered between 2030 and 2035. A second proposal is valued at about €24 billion, including €12 billion for Rheinmetall, for another 2,000 vehicles at a later stage.
The initial phase is expected to include about 1,800 GTK Boxer vehicles. If all three phases proceed, Germany could acquire up to 5,500 new Boxers by around 2040, in addition to the 861 vehicles already ordered by the Bundeswehr.
The programme will cover multiple Boxer configurations, including the Schakal infantry fighting vehicle and RCH 155 self-propelled howitzer. Other planned or considered variants include command vehicles, driver-training platforms, artillery reconnaissance vehicles, armored personnel carriers, medical evacuation vehicles, bridge systems and air-defense vehicles equipped with the Skyranger 30 turret.
Rheinmetall Backlog
The Arminius programme comes as Rheinmetall reports a record €80.4 billion order backlog at the end of the second quarter. Quarterly sales rose nearly 70% to €3.289 billion, while operational results increased 115% year over year. Quarterly order intake increased 476%, with about 70% of the backlog consisting of firm orders.
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