An autumn of protest
Germany and Europe face an autumn of protest against war and the arms build-up. Rheinmetall wants to turn the Kassel area into a ‘Defence Hub North Hesse’ – just one case of the unfolding militarisation.
KASSEL/COLOGNE (our own report) – Some two hundred gatherings took place yesterday, Tuesday, to mark the start of the Second World War. They serve as a starting signal for the protests against militarisation and war planned this autumn. Protest events of all kinds have been announced in numerous other European countries, including Germany, until the end of the year. They are all directed against the continent-wide massive arms build-up and the dismantling of social welfare systems directly linked to it. People in Germany are increasingly alarmed by concrete preparations for war. Anti-militarisation mobilisations will include school strikes, actions by dockworkers and large-scale demonstrations. Yesterday, Tuesday, a week of action against the unchecked escalation of weapons production began in Cologne under the slogan ‘Disarm Rheinmetall’, aimed at curbing Germany’s largest arms manufacturer. The militarisation drive is reshaping the Federal Republic, as seen for instance in last week’s announcement by Rheinmetall of its plans for the city of Kassel. Working in cooperation with the Hesse state government, Rheinmetall said it would be turning the Kassel region into a ‘Defence Hub North Hesse’. Until now, Kassel has been largely known as a peaceful museum city that hosts the ‘documenta’ art exhibitions.
Defence Hub North Hesse
The move to transform Kassel and the surrounding region into a ‘Defence Hub North Hesse’ has begun. In fact the city in the north of the state of Hesse already has strong local presence of defence companies. The arms makers with productions sites are KNDS Deutschland (formerly Krauss-Maffei Wegmann, KMW) and Rheinmetall. The two companies jointly manufacture the Leopard 2 battle tank. They currently employ workforces of around 2,500 (KNDS Deutschland) and 2,200 (Rheinmetall) respectively. In addition, Airbus Helicopters operates in Kassel, employing more than 500 people. KNDS Deutschland recently stated in general terms that it intends to ramp up its operations, while Rheinmetall’s CEO Armin Papperger has specifically announced that his company aims to increase its workforce to just over 3,000. The Kassel plants are set to become the centre of production for the Boxer, a wheeled armoured vehicle, again produced jointly with KNDS. The plan is to turn out 500 Boxers there annually from 2029. The most recent figure for annual output stood at 120 units, which include self-propelled armoured howitzers, armoured recovery vehicles and combat vehicles for engineering missions.[1] It is reported that Rheinmetall’s armoured vehicle plant in Kassel will soon become the most modern anywhere in the world.
Military hub
In addition to expanding its existing plant in the north of Kassel, Rheinmetall intends to make greater use of Kassel-Calden Airport, situated to the north-west. Until recently. The airport facility was primarily used for holiday flights. There are now plans to build a 30,000 square-metre logistics centre in Calden, which Rheinmetall says is needed to “ensure the efficient processing of both domestic and international orders”.[2] There are also plans to set up a drone testing centre at the airport for trialling and developing the drones produced by Rheinmetall. The Düsseldorf-based defence contractor intends to invest a total of 260 million euros in its projects in and around Kassel. A further 25 million euros will be granted by the Hesse state government. Hesse’s Minister-President Boris Rhein stated last Thursday, at the signing of a memorandum of understanding with Rheinmetall, that he had big plans. The ‘military hub’ went beyond the Kassel-Calden Airport initiative, Rhein said, since North Hesse as a whole would become a “high-performance nucleus for modern defence technology”.[3] “The Defence Hub North Hesse,” would “combine Kassel’s industrial strength with the strategic infrastructure of Kassel Airport”.
Weapon systems without US components
Among the drones that Rheinmetall will be putting through their paces at a future Kassel-Calden drone testing centre are ‘kamikaze drones’, i.e. unmanned aerial vehicles that, laden with explosives, circle an area and then plunge towards a target to destroy it. Rheinmetall was awarded a major contract by the Bundeswehr as recently as April to produce such drones. The total order will come to 300 million euros. These FV-014-type weapon systems have a range of up to a hundred kilometres and can fly for up to 70 minutes. Significantly, they contain exclusively European components, making them a weapon system that is independent of US influence.[4] Rheinmetall had originally planned to develop drones in cooperation with American defence contractor Anduril. However, the strategic partnership with the company, which was agreed in June 2025 for this purpose, has since been effectively put on ice.[5] No reasons have been given for this, yet the decision coincides with the German government’s push to reduce the Bundeswehr’s strong dependence on US weapon systems.
Uncrewed collaborative combat aircraft
It remains unclear whether Rheinmetall will secure the contract it hopes for to build a drone that flies as a fighter-bomber alongside crewed aircraft. The collaborative combat aircraft (CCA) is an unmanned vehicle type that the Bundeswehr is keen to procure. Among its uses, it will offer the capability of striking targets located deep within Russian territory. Three models have so far been under consideration. The German drone start-up Helsing is in the process of developing this 3-to-5-ton class CCA, called the CA-1 Europa. Again it is to be manufactured without American components, but will not be available until 2029 at the earliest.[6] Airbus is cooperating with the Kratos Group, which makes the still experimental Valkyrie fighter drone of this type. Kratos is, however, a US-based company. Rheinmetall, for its part, intends to work with Boeing to adapt the latter’s MQ-28 Ghost Bat jet drone – already in service – to German requirements. Of course, Boeing is another US corporation, but to avoid direct US influence, Rheinmetall plans to manufacture the aircraft in collaboration with Boeing Defence Australia. A manager is quoted as saying the German side has been assured “absolute sovereignty in the areas of system architecture, software and platform”.[7] In August, reports emerged of internal disagreements likely causing further delays in procurement by the Bundeswehr. This will increase Helsing’s chances of securing the contract.
Protests (I)
Protest is now growing in Germany against Rheinmetall, the country’s largest defence contractor,[8] which saw sales rise by 39 per cent to 5.2 billion euros in the first half of 2026 (compared to the same period in the previous year). In the Wedding district of Berlin, for example, residents and local organisations have for some time been fighting Rheinmetall’s plans to manufacture ammunition there in the midst of a residential area. More recently, there were also days of action on 10 and 11 July against the lucrative arms manufacturer.[9] Yesterday, Tuesday, another week of protests began in Cologne under the slogan ‘Disarm Rheinmetall’. The protests are directed against war and militarisation in general, but they also highlight the ever greater role of the Düsseldorf-headquartered weapons maker. The activities will culminate in a demonstration next Saturday.
Protests (II)
Yesterday, Tuesday, also saw around two-hundred events taking place across Germany to warn against war on the anniversary of the start of the Second World War. The tragedies and suffering of recent years and today’s ongoing armed conflicts were also highlighted. These gatherings effectively usher in an autumn of protest. Countless people, not only in Germany but across Europe, are expected to take to the streets in protest against the ferocious arms build-up, the resulting dismantling of welfare systems, and the war preparations that are becoming increasingly concrete across the whole continent. School strikes against compulsory military service have been announced (25 September), along with further protests by German school students who want “schools without the Bundeswehr”. There will be activities against NATO’s ‘Red Storm Charlie’ manoeuvre (23 to 26 September) along with a peace conference organised by the DIDF (Federation of Democratic Workers’ Associations, a migrant labour organisation) in Hamburg (27 September). Large-scale anti-war demonstrations are planned in Berlin and Stuttgart (3 October), and an international day of action by dockworkers against war and militarisation (30 October) in numerous ports across Europe. Activists are mobilising globally for a weekend against militarisation and conscription (21–22 November). This list, which only includes the supra-regional protest events already announced, is by no means exhaustive.
[1] Kassel Airport soll zur „militärischen Drehscheibe“ werden. hessenschau.de 27.08.2026.
[2] Defence-Hub Nordhessen: Rheinmetall baut neues Logistik-Zentrum am Kassel Airport – Land Hessen fördert strategische Investition. rheinmetall.com 27.08.2026.
[3] Kassel Airport soll zur „militärischen Drehscheibe“ werden. hessenschau.de 27.08.2026.
[4] Großauftrag im Milliardenbereich: Rheinmetall liefert der Bundeswehr Loitering Munition FV-014. rheinmetall.com 22.04.2026.
[5] Mark Bergen, Gerry Doyle: Anduril’s Year-Old Rheinmetall Drone Partnership Is Scaled Back. bloomberg.com 29.07.2026.
[6] Nadine Schimroszik, Roman Tyborski: Rheinmetall schließt Kampfdrohnen-Partnerschaft mit Boeing. handelsblatt.com 31.03.2026.
[7] Frank Specht, Roman Tyborski: Jagdbomberdrohne erst 2035? Rheinmetall warnt vor Verzögerung. handelsblatt.com 07.08.2026.
[8] See: Auf dem Weg in die erste Rüstungsliga (II).
[9] Annuschka Zak: Geschosse gut geschützt. junge Welt 11.07.2026.
