Rheinmetall AG

Rheinmetall has been building weapons and vehicles out of Düsseldorf since 1889, but the company that exists today is really a product of the last three years, as European governments have rearmed and Rheinmetall has shed its old automotive-parts business to chase the demand. It now organizes itself around five defense divisions. Vehicle Systems is the most recognizable, building the Boxer multirole armored vehicle used by Germany, the UK, the Netherlands, and several other NATO members, the Puma infantry fighting vehicle developed for the German Army, and the new Lynx family offered in KF41 and other configurations to export customers including Hungary. Weapon and Ammunition covers everything from the 120mm gun on the Leopard 2 tank to 155mm artillery shells and 20mm to 35mm cannon rounds, a business that has become one of the company's fastest-growing as NATO militaries rebuild depleted ammunition stockpiles.

Air Defence brings that firepower together with sensors in systems like the Skyranger family, a turret-mounted air defense package built around Oerlikon revolver cannons and available in 30mm and 35mm variants, now offered mounted on the Lynx chassis as a mobile short-range air defense solution against drones and low-flying aircraft. Naval Systems runs four German shipyards, Blohm+Voss, Norderwerft, Peene-Werft, and Neue Jadewerft, building surface combatants and developing autonomous maritime systems. Digital Systems handles networking, defense electronics, and command and control software tying the other divisions' hardware together, including unmanned aerial and space-adjacent projects grouped under its Air Unmanned Space unit. Rheinmetall has also been expanding through acquisition and joint ventures on ammunition and vehicle production inside Ukraine and other frontline states, part of a broader push to build manufacturing capacity closer to where NATO's stockpiles are actually being consumed.

The company also still develops the KF51 Panther, a next-generation main battle tank concept unveiled as a technology demonstrator, and continues legacy vehicle lines like the Fuchs armored transport, Wiesel light tracked vehicle, and Wisent armored recovery and engineering vehicles. Rheinmetall's civilian Power Systems division, the old Pierburg, Kolbenschmidt, and Motorservice automotive parts businesses, was sold off to investment firm Aequita in a deal finalized in mid-2026, completing the company's pivot to a pure-play defense group. Rheinmetall employs around 40,000 people worldwide and reported roughly €9.75 billion in 2024 revenue, a figure that has climbed sharply as European defense budgets have expanded following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The stock trades on the Frankfurt exchange under RHM and has been a DAX component since 2023, reflecting its emergence as one of the continent's most closely watched defense contractors.