'Project Firepower': Inside Rheinmetall's gunpowder expansion as Europe races to replenish its ammunition

BAVARIA, GERMANY – Hidden among forests and farmland beneath the Bavarian Alps, Rheinmetall's sprawling industrial site feels more like a small village than one of Europe's most strategically important defense facilities. Factory buildings are spread across roughly 90 hectares of land as construction crews work on a vast expansion, known as "Project Firepower," that will transform the site into one of Europe's largest gunpowder plants. The quiet surroundings belie the significance of what is being built there. As European governments dramatically increase defense spending following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, one of the biggest challenges has become producing enough ammunition. And one of the biggest constraints on that effort has been gunpowder. The gunpowder choke point Gunpowder prices have spiked as the war in Ukraine depleted stockpiles. "Without gunpowder, it's impossible to protect our people because at the end of the day, you need gunpowder for ammunition," Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger told CNBC's Annette Weisbach at the Bavarian site on Wednesday. "Without gunpowder, no warhead will go out of the barrel." Scarcity of gunpowder is seen as a choke point for ramping up p...