Overview

• Rheinmetall has acquired the 41-hectare Lerchenberg site near Zusamaltheim, with the mayor saying the company has owned it since July 1.
• The property includes 32 concrete bunkers that can store up to 900 tonnes of net explosive mass, while the destruction facility itself will be newly built.
• The planned operation will neutralize ordnance recovered from land or sea along with Bundeswehr stockpiles and, according to local reporting, inventories from other NATO forces.
• Start-up is scheduled for early 2026, and municipal leaders have publicly endorsed the plan as a sensible reuse of the former military area.
• Rheinmetall cites an estimated 1.6 million tonnes of munitions on North and Baltic Sea floors and more than 20,000 tonnes in southern Germany, and it recently bought Stascheit to add ordnance-recovery capabilities.