German defense technology group Rheinmetall said Thursday that it was part of a consortium that had secured a €1.1-billion ($1.4-billion) contract from the German army to maintain some of its weapons systems and vehicles for a period of eight years. The Heeresinstandsetzungslogistik GmbH (HIL) consortium is 49-percent owned by the government. Rheinmetall, Krauss-Maffei Wegmann and Industriewerke Saar each hold stakes of 17 percent stakes. Rheinmetall said that the German government also planned to allocate €670 million in additional funds to the consortium.