Rheinmetall points the way forward in defence production. Before the war in Ukraine, the Düsseldorf-based group produced around 70,000 artillery shells a year. This year, up to 700,000 rounds will roll off production lines in Germany, Spain, South Africa, Australia and Hungary, and by 2027 the figure is expected to reach 1.5 million.

Germany’s defence industry has entered the age of mass production. Until now, many defence companies operated more like workshops: small Bundeswehr orders rarely justified large-scale manufacturing, so much of the work was still done by hand. That is slow and expensive – and of little help in the urgent rearmament now required in the face of a threat from Russia.

For decades, such a threat scenario did not exist – which is why only a trickle of tanks, fighter jets, or artillery shells left the factory gates. Anyone who has ever set foot on a Bundeswehr base knows the chronic shortage of (functional) equipment. That shortage has only worsened since large volumes of materiel were transferred to Ukraine.

Consultants at McKinsey, in their newly published defence study, put one recommendation at the very top: accelerate production – in the defence industry itself, among suppliers and among raw materials producers. Their second demand: integrate new players to help scale output. The experts have their eyes in particular on automotive and mechanical-engineering companies, which could contribute not only production capacity but also industrial know-how – and which are currently suffering from domestic economic weakness, fierce competition from China, and US tariffs.

That is precisely what is happening at Deutz. Founded in 1864, the company calls itself the world’s oldest engine maker. Last year, 150,000 engines rolled off its production lines. With 5,000 employees, Deutz knows mass production. Compare that with Sobek, which was just acquired by Deutz: founded in 1975, it made its name with high-performance drive technology for motorsport, and has since become a supplier of drone engines and control systems. With 70 employees, Sobek operates in small-batch production. Deutz now wants to increase sales of high-margin drone drives roughly twentyfold by 2033. Its experience in scaling and mass production will be invaluable.