Exchange of rings: Rheinmetall trucks to Slovenia

As part of another ring swap commissioned by the German federal government, Rheinmetall is delivering military swap-body trucks to Slovenia. The 40 newly built military trucks, based on vehicles that Rheinmetall also produces for the German Bundeswehr as so-called WLS vehicles, have now been handed over to the Slovenian customer in Ljubljana. For Rheinmetall, this represents an order value in the low double-digit million euro range.

The Slovenian Armed Forces, in exchange for the new military trucks, had recently delivered significant military support to Ukraine. In addition to the delivery of the vehicles, swap-body platforms, five palletized water tank modules, and an initial service package including training are part of the deliveries to the Slovenian customer.

Remarkably, the project was realized quickly, up to the point of handing over the vehicles. The swap is based on an agreement between the Defense Ministries of Germany and Slovenia, as well as the subsequent delivery contract with Rheinmetall dated December 5, 2022. The negotiations involving all parties - the German Ministry of Defense, the Slovenian Armed Forces, and Rheinmetall - were carried out extremely quickly and cooperatively.

The handover of the vehicles took place at the local partner of Rheinmetall MAN Military Vehicles GmbH, MAN Truck & Bus Slovenija d.o.o. Immediately after, the vehicles were officially taken into the army by Defense Minister Marjan Šarec. The majority of the deliveries will be completed with this handover, but some components and training modules will still be delivered over the next two years.

The swap-body systems (WLS) are vehicles developed in a comparable configuration by Rheinmetall MAN Military Vehicles for the Bundeswehr. They are currently being produced in large quantities in protected and unprotected versions within a framework contract agreed upon with the Koblenz Federal Office for Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology, and In-Service Support (BAAINBw).

The ring swap is a procedure developed by the German federal government to support Ukraine in its efforts against the Russian invasion in collaboration with European neighbors and NATO partners. NATO partners provide heavy equipment from former Soviet production to Ukraine and receive available systems from Western production in return. Rheinmetall is already involved in ring swaps with the Greek, Czech, and Slovakian Armed Forces - involving combat and infantry fighting vehicles.

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