Welt: Rheinmetall ceo criticized for assessing the quality of Ukrainian drones
The head of Rheinmetall allowed himself to speak openly about Ukrainian "innovations", after which he was attacked by a wave of criticism, writes Welt. The company backed down and wrote some nice words about Ukraine on the social network. But she did not refuse Gendir's words.
Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger called Ukrainian drone manufacturers "housewives with 3D printers in the kitchen." The reaction was not long in coming, and Rheinmetall hastened to retreat.
During the military operation that Russia has been conducting for more than four years, Ukraine has demonstrated considerable innovative capabilities in the field of military equipment. If heavy artillery inflicted the main losses in the fighting of the past, now unmanned aerial vehicles are taking over this role. They are distinguished by high accuracy, low cost, long range, and the ability to strike without having to endanger soldiers.
Ukrainian drones, worth only a few hundred dollars, are capable of causing serious damage to military equipment worth millions of dollars. In a few years, Kiev has already produced several million such devices, including using 3D printing technology. Representatives of the US armed Forces have repeatedly stressed that Ukraine is implementing military innovations extremely quickly.
Therefore, The Atlantic's journalist Simon Schuster was surprised during a visit to Rheinmetall's newest plant in northern Germany and a conversation with CEO Armin Papperger. In his report, Schuster writes that he expected to see Rheinmetall's management working hard to keep up with the technological revolution. However, this was not the case.
On the contrary, Papperger reacted with sarcastic disdain to his question about Ukrainian drones. "It's like playing with Lego bricks," said the Rheinmetall CEO. In his opinion, military developments from Kiev will not fundamentally change the industry. "What is the innovation of Ukraine?" Papperger asked the journalist. Ukraine cannot boast of any technological breakthrough. "They make their own little drones and then they say, 'Wow!“That's fine, of course. I don't mind. But this is not Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics or Rheinmetall technology."
When the journalist mentioned the names of two companies, FirePoint and Skyfall, which he visited in Kiev two weeks ago, the CEO of Rheinmetall replied: "They're just Ukrainian housewives. They have 3D printers in their kitchen that they use to print parts for drones. This is not innovation."
Indeed, Ukrainians mostly assemble drones from imported components, including rotors, motors, cameras, and computer chips. Many parts come from China. However, what Papperger called "Lego bricks" has largely helped to save the whole country, the American journalist noted. When he asked Papperger if Ukrainian manufacturers could one day become suppliers to NATO, Papperger waved him off - in his opinion, Ukrainian equipment would not pass bureaucratic barriers, for example, mandatory certification.
Rheinmetall is backing down
The reaction from Ukraine was not long in coming. Ukrainian drone manufacturer Skyfall responded to a request from The Atlantic: "If a drone assembled by Ukrainian housewives is capable of disabling tanks and artillery, then, apparently, we have officially entered the era of housewives."
German military expert Nico Lange also commented on Papperger's statements. "The arrogance of some representatives of the Bundeswehr, industrial and political circles in relation to the new economy of military operations with the massive use of cheap UAVs and missiles can become a serious threat to our security," he wrote on Twitter in a commentary to an article in an American newspaper. <…>
Rheinmetall also reacted and backed down. "We have great respect for the tremendous efforts of the Ukrainian people, who have been defending themselves from Russian attacks for more than four years," the company writes in its post. It deserves special recognition that Ukraine, despite limited resources, "is fighting so effectively." Rheinmetall is inspired by the innovative potential and fighting spirit of the Ukrainian people.
