Rheinmetall Aviation Services GmbH
Rheinmetall Aviation Services GmbH, Bremen, was founded in 2019 as a wholly owned subsidiary of Rheinmetall Electronics GmbH to reflect Rheinmetall's ambitions and commitment to increase its involvement in the air dimension. Since then, Rheinmetall Aviation Services has secured contracts to support the German Air Force's CH-53G fleet at all three locations.
From 2025, Rheinmetall Aviation Services GmbH will produce F-35A fuselage centre sections for one
of the world's most advanced fighter aircraft in Germany.
With the decision by the German Air Force and the Federal Procurement Agency (BAAINBw) to entrust Rheinmetall with the inspection, maintenance, repair and overhaul of the CH-53G legacy fleet at all three locations under a new cooperation model, Rheinmetall has proven itself as an innovative partner to the German Air Force, earning its trust on a daily basis that this aircraft can be operated safely and successfully in Germany.
Together with its US partners Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin, Rheinmetall Aviation Services (RAS) becomes part of a large and extensive armaments program and contributes significantly to the modernization of the German Air Force and friendly armed forces through the production of F-35 centre fuselage sections.
Visit of NRW Minister President Hendrik Wüst to Northrop Grumman
On April 16, Minister President Hendrik Wüst visited Northrop Grumman's F-35 centre fuselage production facility in Palmdale / USA to mark the start of the training program for Rheinmetall Aviation Services specialists for the F-35 centre fuselage plant in Weeze. Among others, he met with Tom Jones, Executive Vice President & President Aeronautics Sector.
(Video: Courtesy of Northrop Grumman)
"The cooperation between North Rhine-Westphalia and California, between Rheinmetall, Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin, is an excellent example of the transfer of technology and know-how between alliance partners in the field of security and defense policy," said NRW Minister President Wüst. The F-35 factory in Weeze will start production in July 2025, creating more than 400 jobs and making an important contribution to the military aerospace industry. During his visit, NRW Minister President Wüst also spoke with the RAS specialists. They are being trained at the Northrop Grumman facility as part of a "train the trainer" course in the production of the F-35 centre fuselage section. They will later pass on their knowledge to the future specialists in Weeze, thus making a significant contribution to ensuring the high quality standards in the complex production of the F-35 centre fuselage section in Weeze.
Bremen
The headquarters of Rheinmetall Aviation Services GmbH (RAS) are located in Bremen. In addition to the management board, the program management, the technical management and the administrative department, such as finance and controlling, recruiting and human resources or technical purchasing, are also located here.
Diepholz, Laupheim and Holzdorf
In close cooperation with the German Armed Forces, Rheinmetall Aviation Services GmbH operates maintenance and repair bays at the locations in Diepholz, Laupheim and Holzdorf for performing simple to highly complex maintenance and repair work in the areas of line and base maintenance. Furthermore, RAS is closely involved in the daily flight line servicing at the two operational locations Laupheim and Holzdorf and supports the Air Force there in carrying out the daily flight service inspections and the so-called ground handling of the helicopters.
Weeze
At the Weeze site in North Rhine-Westphalia/Germany, Rheinmetall Aviation Services will build a new factoryfor the production of centre fuselage sections for the F-35A. The construction of this state-of-the-art factory with a production area of almost 30,000 square meters and more than 400 highly qualified new employees will not only enable the production of F-35 fuselage centre sections, but will also be one of the most advanced factories in Europe. The factory will be equipped with state-of-the-art equipment and technology and will set new standards. It will also have logistics and storage areas to store and manage components, materials and equipment. There will also be research and development facilities as well as training facilities for assembly and quality control.
Rheinmetall Aviation Services GmbH is a cooperative partner of the German Air Force in the field of helicopter maintenance and repair. We have the expertise in the areas of ground handling as well as daily flight service inspections, in the area of light scheduled and non-scheduled maintenance up to complex and extensive maintenance in the area of base maintenance.
The production of the F-35 centre fuselage sections will be characterized by a pioneering role in innovative solutions and groundbreaking manufacturing technologies. The agile production environment will be based on advanced technologies, including sensors, data analytics, artificial intelligence and AR/VR applications. The factory in Weeze, operated by Rheinmetall Aviation Services, will be one of the most advanced factories in Europe.
Rheinmetall Aviation Services also offers logistics and spare parts management services as well as fleet planning and management services for aircraft fleets. As a platform-independent service provider, Rheinmetall Aviation Services maintains excellent relations with major aircraft manufacturers and cooperates with them in the above-mentioned business areas.
In addition to aircraft maintenance, Rheinmetall has proven expertise in the maintenance of training systems and the operation of training centres for pilots, operators and maintenance personnel in cooperation with German, European and other international customers.
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