The British Army and the German Armed Forces have commissioned Rheinmetall to produce qualification rounds of its newly developed 120 mm kinetic energy tank ammunition. The German federal office in charge of acquiring equipment for the Bundeswehr and Rheinmetall Waffe Munition signed the related qualification contract in September 2020.
According to Rheinmetall, the new ammo, known as KE2020Neo or eKE, is designed to counter the latest advancements in armor protection technologies. It features a high-strength tungsten penetrator and the company’s 120 mm smoothbore technology, a standard in tanks deployed by NATO and other Western nations.
KE2020Neo builds on advancements from previous iterations of Rheinmetall’s KE series, including DM63 and DM53 A1, which are temperature-independent high-performance tank ammunitions. The DM73 variant, the latest model in the market, features an enhanced propulsion unit, a higher muzzle velocity and an extended engagement range.
The company designed the 120 mm KE rounds, currently employed by more than 15 countries, to meet all existing NATO standards. They are deployable in Leopard 2, M1 Abrams and British Challenger 3 battle tanks across various climates.
In addition to the KE2020Neo ammunition, Rheinmetall was also recently awarded contracts to supply the Bundeswehr with unguided 70 mm practice rockets and up to 6,500 military trucks. The arms manufacturer is also building an ammo factory in Ukraine.