Anil Ambani's Reliance Defence in pact to supply artillery shells to German firm

New Delhi: Anil Ambani's Reliance Defence Ltd on Thursday announced a pact to supply explosives and artillery shells, among other ammunitions, to German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall AG.

Reliance Defence will set up a greenfield plant in Maharashtra to manufacture and supply the ammunitions, it said in a statement.

The partnership with Reliance Infrastructure-promoted Reliance Defence is expected to secure global supply chains and access to important raw materials for Rheinmetall, which manufactures artillery as well as armored vehicles and tanks, the statement said.

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“This strategic partnership of Rheinmetall with Reliance Defence led by Anil Ambani’s Reliance Group illustrates our strong commitment to partner with India under the strong leadership of Prime Minister Modi," said Armin Papperger, CEO of Rheinmetall AG.

The new manufacturing facility in the Watad Industrial Area of Ratnagiri will have an annual capacity to produce up to 200,000 artillery shells, 10,000 tonnes of explosives and 2,000 tonnes of propellants. It will also make a significant contribution to supplying the country's armed forces, the company said.

"This strategic partnership brings cutting-edge capabilities to India, marking a transformational moment for the country’s private defence manufacturing sector. Guided by the vision of ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’, as championed by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, our objective is clear – to position Reliance Defence among the top 3 defence exporters, enabling India to not only meet its domestic defence needs, but also emerge as a key player in the global defence supply chain."

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Dusseldorf-based Rheinmetall AG is a key manufacturer of loitering munitions, large-caliber weapons and ammunition, as well as propulsions systems for artillery applications.

After two successful joint ventures with global majors, Dassault Aviation and Thales Group of France, this is the third significant international partnership for Reliance Defence, the company said.

Defence stocks rise

This comes at a time when Indian defence stocks have skyrocketed amid rising geopolitical tensions between India and Pakistan. Mint reported on 20 May that Indian defence stocks such as Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Ltd (GRSE), Cochin Shipyard Ltd, Mishra Dhatu Nigam Ltd (MIDHANI), Paras Defence and Space Technologies Ltd, Data Patterns (India) Ltd, Bharat Dynamics Ltd (BDL), and Astra Microwave Products Ltd have seen sharp rallies, outperforming broader indices by a wide margin.

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In FY25, India's defence exports surged to a record high of ₹23,622 crore, marking a 12% increase over FY24, a defence ministry statement said on 1 April. the contribution of state-run defence firms to exports rose to ₹8,389 crore in FY25, up from ₹5,874 crore in the year prior.