Rheinmetall budgets €180 million to expand ammunition production in Spain
Rheinmetall Expal Munitions plans to invest around €180 million in Spain in 2026 after reporting record 2025 revenue and a €1.725 billion order backlog. The program includes additional production capacity and the return of gunpowder operations at Javalí Viejo in Murcia.
Investment rises after record results
Rheinmetall has budgeted around €180 million of investment in Rheinmetall Expal Munitions for 2026, according to Vozpópuli, citing the latest accounts of the Spanish subsidiary. Expal, which specializes in weapons, ammunition and explosives, intends to expand production capacity and complete projects needed to serve rising demand.
The planned expenditure is almost three times the approximately €61 million that Expal allocated to fixed assets and research and development in 2025. Its property, plant and equipment increased from €88.8 million to €123.9 million during the year. Assets under construction and advances linked to new facilities rose from €30.5 million to €55.5 million.
Expal generated record revenue of €716.7 million in 2025, up 12% from €639.5 million in 2024. Net profit increased 18% from €207.5 million to €245 million, while profit before tax reached €323 million and operating profit exceeded €317 million. The sole shareholder approved the allocation of the exact €245.02 million annual profit to voluntary reserves.
Backlog supports capacity expansion
The subsidiary ended 2025 with €1.725 billion of contracts awaiting execution. Expal linked the backlog to stronger contracting across the defense industry amid the sociopolitical situation. It expects growth of more than 40% in 2026 compared with 2025, making the delivery of its investment program and the strengthening of its supply chain central operational priorities.
The Spanish expansion forms part of Rheinmetall’s wider ammunition strategy. The group aims to establish annual capacity for 1.1 million 155-millimeter artillery shells in 2027 and 1.5 million in 2030. It is also adding capabilities in vehicles, air defense, digital systems and shipbuilding as it develops an exclusively military business spanning land, air, naval and space activities.
Rheinmetall’s global sales increased 29% to €9.935 billion in 2025, while its backlog reached €63.8 billion. The group forecasts another 40%-45% rise in revenue in 2026, to between €14 billion and €14.5 billion. It maintained that guidance after the first quarter even though initial sales growth was only 8%, with some activity shifting into later months.
Murcia gunpowder plant resumes operations
The recovery of Expal’s Javalí Viejo factory in Murcia will support the additional output. The plant maintained only minimum gunpowder production capacity for eleven months following an accident on January 31, 2025. Vozpópuli reported that, according to Expal’s accounts, the facility resumed operations during the first months of 2026, restoring capacity required to accelerate production and deliveries.
Expal’s permanent average workforce increased from 1,146 to 1,687 employees in 2025. The combination of more staff, restored gunpowder output and investment in new facilities gives the subsidiary a larger industrial base, but the immediate challenge is execution. Expal must convert the €180 million budget into operating capacity quickly enough to fulfill its backlog while improving efficiency and reinforcing the suppliers needed for higher production volumes.
