Lockheed Martin and Rheinmetall signed a new cooperation memorandum (MoU) during the ILA 2024 exhibition in Berlin. 

According to a relevant announcement, the two partners want to jointly develop areas of cooperation in relation to land, air and naval forces as well as in the areas of simulation and maintenance. 

Specifically, this includes, but is not limited to, missile artillery, laser weapon systems, ground vehicle and helicopter simulation and training, very short range (vSHORAD) and short range (SHORAD) air defence and other areas.

With this signature, both companies build on successful collaborations such as the German F-35 program or the GMARS missile artillery system. Therefore, they take their cooperation to the next strategic level with the aim of further strengthening their industrial relations.

Lockheed Martin has been a partner of German industry for more than 50 years and continues to expand these partnerships by working with companies such as Rheinmetall that have advanced technological capabilities. 

As part of the international F-35 supply chain, Rheinmetall will soon begin production of 400 fuselages for the F-35. The Dusseldorf-based technology group is thus creating at least 400 direct jobs for highly-skilled employees at Weeze.

In 2023, Rheinmetall and Lockheed Martin joined forces to develop the GMARS multiple rocket launcher system, which is intended to meet the growing need for long-range missile artillery. 

If the Bundeswehr decides positively on this system, it would automatically mean a significant share of the added value for German industry.

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