Europe’s biggest weapons maker is profiting from the Iran war. On Wednesday, Rheinmetall ceo Armin Papperger said the war has created “opportunities” for his company.

“Over the weekend the phones did not stop ringing. People want our systems,” he said, adding that 100 drones have been shot down in the Middle East over the weekend using Rheinmetall systems.

Rheinmetall’s drone defense weapons are inexpensive compared to the alternatives. According to German newspaper Die Welt, in the first three days of the war, the U.S. and its allies launched “around 2,000 missiles and guided missiles, at a total cost of $4 billion. Each of these interceptor missiles costs an average of $2 million—in contrast, Iranian drones cost only $20,000 to $50,000.” To shoot down a drone using Rheinmetall’s Skyranger system costs just $4,000.

There is a growing demand for Rheinmetall’s products in general. In recent years:

• The share price has increased 15-fold since the war began.
• Its order backlog hit a record $73 billion, up 36 percent from 2025.
• It expects 2026 sales to reach $17 billion, up 40 percent from last year, which was 29 percent more than 2024.

Rheinmetall is becoming Europe’s main supplier for a range of military equipment needs, ranging from ammunition to tanks to warships.

Supplies of high-value weapons from Rheinmetall and other German manufacturers have been used by the German government as a foreign-policy tool to extend its influence, including in the Middle East. Last month, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz moved further in this direction, stating that the government will loosen restrictions on weapons exports to Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

Rheinmetall’s success and expansion should raise concern. As Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry wrote in “Rising From the Underground”:

Rheinmetall armed Germany in two world wars. Between those wars, it was forced to operate underground. … This enabled the rise of Adolf Hitler and German military dominance. In 1944, the SS leadership directed Rheinmetall and others to go underground again. The minutes of the meeting were kept classified until 1996—and even then the media largely ignored them. But Rheinmetall followed these orders and is now rising from the underground! It is time we pay attention. It is almost too late!

The fourth Reich and its allies are being armed now by companies like Rheinmetall.