The facility adds around 3,400 square metres of new production space and will primarily be used to expand capacity for the integration of guided missiles, initially for variants of the IRIS-T family. According to the company, the building is unique in Europe due to its rising structure towards the rear and complies with the latest legal requirements for explosives processing operations.
Speaking at the event, Saarland’s Minister President Anke Rehlinger said: “The industry is investing, expanding capacity and creating jobs. This is good for our Saarland.” Saarland’s Minister of Economics Jürgen Barke added: “The enormous investments by Diehl Defence in Saarland show that our federal state is an efficient location for high technology. The expansion of the defence and security industry opens up new prospects for growth and employment, particularly in times of structural change. Nonnweiler is developing into an industrial anchor with trans-regional appeal.”
Thomas Bodenmüller, Chief Financial Officer of Diehl Defence, said: “The integration building is the first building here in Nonnweiler to be completed during the current growth phase. Construction work on the next three new buildings has already begun.” He added: “In total, there are more than 20 other construction projects at the location. In addition to further production buildings for other product families, a new logistics building is also planned at our Mariahütte site.”
Diehl Defence has been in a sustained growth phase for several years, which has intensified since 2022 due to rising demand, particularly from Germany and other NATO countries. To support customers’ defence capabilities, the company is expanding capacity across all sites, with total planned investments of around €1.5 billion company-wide.
