VIENNA \u2014 The chief executive of Rheinmetall, Europe\u2019s highest-valued defense company, continues to face criticism after dismissing Ukraine\u2019s drone industry as the work of \u201chousewives\u201d with \u201c3D printers in their kitchens\u201d \u2212 comments his own company quickly walked back. Now, German media report the Bundeswehr\u2019s flagship Rheinmetall counter-drone system is running at least 16 months behind schedule, adding further troubles for the defense giant.<\/p>\n
Armin Papperger made the remarks on Ukraine in an interview with The Atlantic, published March 27, conducted at Rheinmetall\u2019s Unterl\u00fc\u00df factory. Discussing Ukrainian drone manufacturers \u2212 including companies such as Fire Point and Skyfall, named by the interviewer \u2212 Papperger said the producers were \u201cUkrainian housewives\u201d and described the work as \u201cplaying with Lego.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is not the technology of Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics or Rheinmetall,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The backlash was swift and came from multiple directions. Within 48 hours, Rheinmetall\u2019s own corporate communications published a statement saying the company \u201cdeeply respects the enormous efforts of the Ukrainian people in self-defense against Russian aggression\u201d and called the Ukrainian \u201cinnovative strength and fighting spirit\u201d a \u201csource of inspiration.\u201d<\/p>\n
Papperger has been the company\u2019s CEO since 2013.<\/p>\n Rheinmetall runs multiple joint ventures in Ukraine and has staked much of its rearmament narrative on being a trusted partner of Kyiv.<\/p>\n The Ukrainian drone industry, while heavily reliant on Chinese components, has developed battlefield capabilities, from one-way attack FPVs to long-range strike drones, that have demonstrably shaped the course of the war in ways no Western prime contractor has replicated at comparable speed or cost.<\/p>\n In October, Papperger had already called into question the importance of drones in the war in Ukraine, telling Handelsblatt, a German business publication, that modern wars are still fought primarily with tanks and missiles. \u201cThere are a lot of these narratives circulating right now that claim future wars will be fought exclusively with drones. I think that\u2019s nonsense,\u201d he was quoted<\/a> as saying.<\/p>\n The timing of his latest remarks collided with unflattering news on Rheinmetall\u2019s home turf. According to German news magazine Stern, reporting on March 31 based on sources in Bundeswehr and parliamentary circles, the Defense Ministry expects delivery of the first serial Skyranger 30 systems with a delay of at least 16 months. That pushes initial deliveries to 2027 at the earliest. The fully developed version would not reach the Bundeswehr until 2029, according to Stern.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Rheinmetall, when asked, said the delay amounts to five months.<\/p>\n The Skyranger 30 is a 30mm air-defense and counter-drone cannon mounted on a Boxer armored vehicle. Stern reported that the delay stems from technical problems integrating key turret components and a failure to incorporate a guided missile originally included in the system\u2019s specification. Under contract terms reviewed by the magazine, Rheinmetall could face a penalty of up to \u20ac25 million ($29 million). Neither Rheinmetall nor the Defense Ministry confirmed this number, with the ministry citing trade secrets.<\/p>\n Rheinmetall had proposed an interim solution: a reduced-capability, truck-mounted variant, quoted at approximately \u20ac300 million ($348 million). Stern reported that both the ministry and the army rejected the offer after a shooting test deemed unsatisfactory.<\/p>\n Rheinmetall\u2019s stock price remains around 15 times higher than it was before Russia\u2019s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.<\/p>\n The Bundeswehr is urgently rebuilding its short-range air defense capacity, largely gutted after the Cold War, at a moment when the war in Ukraine has made drone threats the most pressing tactical challenge on the European continent. Germany has framed its rearmament as a matter of strategic urgency, and Rheinmetall has been the central industrial beneficiary of that program.<\/p>\n Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called Papperger\u2019s comments \u201cstrange\u201d earlier this week, the Associated Press reported.<\/p>\n \u201cIf every Ukrainian housewife can really produce drones, then every Ukrainian housewife could also be the CEO of Rheinmetall,\u201d he told reporters via voicemail on WhatsApp, AP reported. \u201cI congratulate our defense-industrial complex on being at such a high level.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>