The new venture, which involves a €500 million investment, aims to produce 20,000 tonnes of gunpowder annually by 2030, with the Romanian side holding a 49% stake. Rheinmetall’s CEO Armin Papperger said the group is also engaged in two other defence programmes in Romania—medium-calibre ammunition and main battle tanks.
“We have to wait and see what happens with medium-calibre ammunition and tanks so that Rheinmetall can start building the ecosystem and production infrastructure to carry out these programmes in Romania, which will create thousands of new jobs in this country,” said Papperger. His comments underline the company’s broader interest in developing local defence capabilities beyond the gunpowder plant.
Romania plans to replace its outdated TR-85 and T-55 tanks through a two-phase programme requiring 270 tanks and 88 support vehicles. The first phase, already underway, includes the purchase of 54 M1A2 SEPv3 Abrams tanks and 12 support vehicles for $2.53 billion.
The second phase, valued at around €6.5 billion net, will also focus on building industrial capacity, making further US tank purchases unlikely. The selection is expected to be made between the Rheinmetall KF51 Panther, the KNDS Deutschland Leopard 2A8, and the Hyundai Rotem K2Ex.
For the KF51 Panther and Leopard 2A8, partial funding may come from the SAFE fund, from which Bucharest can seek up to €16.68 billion, although about €6 billion is earmarked for infrastructure upgrades.
Source: EconMedia.
