Bundeswehr faults Rheinmetall on two key weapons programs

Internal Bundeswehr procurement documents show new deficiencies in two major Rheinmetall weapons programs, the Skyranger air defense system and the Schwerer Waffenträger Infanterie armored wheeled vehicle (Boxer HWC), according to reporting by Capital‘s Christian Schweppe.

The German procurement office cited “insufficient maturity and quality” as reasons for the delays, the outlet reported.

Both programs fall under Germany’s “Zeitenwende” rearmament push, and Rheinmetall has been the largest beneficiary of the country’s expanded defense spending in response to the perceived threat from Russia. The company has posted record revenue and holds a record order backlog, but German lawmakers and military officials have increasingly pressed Rheinmetall on delivery reliability and speed.

For the Schwerer Waffenträger, Berlin signed a contract with the Australian government for production at a Rheinmetall facility there, intended to speed delivery of 123 ordered vehicles despite higher management and transport costs. According to the procurement documents cited by Capital, the program now faces a delay of at least 11 months relative to the contract schedule. The first vehicles, originally expected for delivery this summer, were anticipated to arrive with only minimum capabilities, the documents state.

Defense Minister Boris Pistorius had previously criticized delays on the Schwerer Waffenträger publicly without providing details, according to Capital. Rheinmetall told Capital it could not comment on details of ongoing customer contracts for contractual reasons and referred questions to the Bundeswehr.

The Bundeswehr’s procurement office told Capital that first series vehicle deliveries were originally planned for 2025 at the time the contract was signed, and that current contractor planning points to a third-quarter 2026 start instead. The office said Germany and Australia remain in regular contact with the contractor regarding delay-reduction measures for which the company is responsible.

Criticism is sharper on Skyranger, the mobile air defense system intended to close a gap in the German military’s mobile air defense capability. Capital had previously reported on problems with the program. Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger has disputed major delays, citing a five-month slip, while the Defense Ministry has repeatedly communicated a larger delay internally in Berlin, according to Capital.

According to the procurement documents, the first qualification test vehicles for the Bundeswehr are now expected in December, with qualification testing concluding by mid-2027. The first series-production vehicle is not expected until August 2027. Under the original budget submission, four series vehicles were due for delivery this year and 13 more in 2027, with the qualification test vehicle originally due in October 2024, nearly two years ago, Capital reported.

Rheinmetall told Capital that the contract calls for delivery of all 19 series vehicles by February 2028. But the government’s own armament submission, reviewed by Capital, shows four Skyranger units scheduled for delivery this year, a figure Rheinmetall’s public response did not address.

The Bundeswehr procurement office told Capital that the contracted Skyranger 30 units are now expected to begin delivery around mid-2027, versus an original delivery start planned for mid-2026.

Rheinmetall told Capital the final series vehicle would arrive in February 2028, though the procurement documents reference July 2028. The company said the first qualification samples would still arrive in 2026, though the original contract called for that delivery in 2024.

The procurement documents indicate the Bundeswehr currently has no reliable assessment of what Skyranger’s full capability will be until mid-2027, when “system performance” can be conclusively evaluated. The documents describe the contractor’s performance as “in strong need of improvement,” and state that Rheinmetall Electronics, the division handling the program, lacks “core competency for building a complete wheel-based weapon system.”

Rheinmetall told Capital it is an “established systems provider” that builds “technologically leading systems” on wheeled platforms as well.