Germany Rheinmetall
DM53 APFSDS
German 120 mm long-rod tungsten APFSDS round with a longer penetrator and higher velocity than DM43, designed to defeat reactive and composite armor.
Compiled from public sources ·primary reference ↗ ·last verified 2026-07-05
Procurement snapshot
Availability & export
German export-licensed
BAFA licensing with strict end-use review; approvals can be politically constrained.
Channel: Direct commercial / G2G
Fielded & proven
Operator data not public
Status: active.
Lifecycle cost (est.)
No public unit price to model from.
Interoperability
Derived guidance from public data, export regime by country of origin, lifecycle from the GAO ~30% acquisition rule. Verify eligibility, pricing and offsets with the manufacturer and your acquisition authority.
Full specifications
Firepower
Armament, payload and guidance.
- Caliber
Bore diameter of the main gun or rifle. Larger throws heavier projectiles; not simply better, ammunition commonality matters.
- 120 mm
Munition
Round type, penetration, velocity and projectile data.
- Round type
APFSDS (kinetic sabot), HEAT / multipurpose, HE-FRAG, canister or gun-launched ATGM.
- APFSDS
- Caliber
Bore diameter the round is fired from.
- 120 mm
- Penetration
Published/estimated rolled-homogeneous-armour-equivalent penetration. Values are open-source estimates; real figures are classified.
- 650 mm RHA Stronger than 71% of munitions
- Muzzle velocity
Speed as the projectile leaves the barrel. Higher flattens trajectory and shortens time-to-target.
- 1,750 m/s Top 9% of munitions
- Projectile mass
Mass of the projectile or penetrator assembly.
- 8.4 kg
Specifications compiled from public Rheinmetall and reference sources ↗. Published defense figures are approximations, treat comparisons as directional. Last verified 2026-07-05.
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