Reliance Defence ties up with Rheinmetall to supply ammunition, explosives

Reliance Defence and Rheinmetall AG will jointly produce explosives and propellants at a new greenfield facility in Maharashtra as part of a broader defence collaboration

Reliance Defence, promoted by Anil Ambani’s Reliance Infrastructure, has partnered with German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall AG to produce ammunition in Maharashtra’s Ratanagiri.

 

As part of the agreement, Reliance Defence will supply the explosives and propellants for medium and large caliber ammunition to Rheinmetall. 

 

This is the third such partnership for Reliance Defence, following its deals with France’s Dassault Aviation and Thales Group. 

 

According to a statement issued by Reliance Infrastructure, Reliance Defence and Rheinmetall will engage in joint marketing activities for select products.

 

Reliance Defence will set up a greenfield manufacturing facility in Ratnagiri’s Watad industrial area. The facility, to be called the Dhirubhai Ambani Defence City (DADC), will be one of the largest in south Asia, and will have the capacity to produce up to 200,000 artillery shells, 10,000 tons of explosives, and 2,000 tons of propellants annually. 

 

Anil Ambani, founder and chairman of Reliance Group, said: “This strategic partnership brings cutting-edge capabilities to India, marking a transformational moment for India’s private defence manufacturing sector. Guided by the vision of ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’, as championed by Prime Minister 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. This project marks a major step in the Reliance Group’s long-term strategy to invest in the fast-growing defence manufacturing sector.” 

 

Armin Papperger, chief executive officer (CEO) of Rheinmetall AG, said, “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”. 

 

Rheinmetall AG, one of the world's largest defence conglomerates, has a market capitalisation of over ₹7 trillion. It concluded the calendar year 2024 with an annual revenue of 9.8 billion euros, from operations spanning 171 global locations.

 

Earlier, Reliance Defence had announced plans to set up an integrated project for the manufacturing of explosives, ammunition and small arms in DADC.