Germany’s Rheinmetall is positioning Romania as a key node in its European expansion, with plans to build a broad defense production ecosystem in the country.
Speaking to Mediafax, Rheinmetall country representative Nick Stirban outlined how Romania’s location on NATO’s eastern flank and its access to the Black Sea make it central to regional security and logistics, driving the push to localize manufacturing and reduce reliance on imports.
More than 100 Romanian firms are now part of Rheinmetall’s supply network, Stirban said, reflecting a broader strategy to embed domestic industry into European defense production chains.
Rheinmetall aims to expand beyond land systems into ammunition, air defense, naval platforms, and explosives manufacturing.
The company expects to create more than 2,500 direct jobs, with additional employment growth across related sectors as the ecosystem scales.
Stirban described the long-term goal as building a self-sufficient industrial base that allows Romania to produce and maintain critical defense systems domestically.
“We will not just build factories, we are building the future of Romanian defense engineering and industry,” he said. “We want ‘Made in Romania’ to become a standard of excellence within NATO armies.”
Rheinmetall Expands Footprint Across Romania
Recent years have already seen Rheinmetall deepen its presence in Romania through a series of projects tied to local production and maintenance.
In November 2025, Rheinmetall signed a deal to build a gunpowder factory in the country, with more than 500 million euros ($576 million) invested in the project.
The plant is planned for Victoria in central Romania and forms part of efforts to expand European defense industrial capacity.
The same year, in July, the company announced that it was launching a new production network to address the need for ready-to-use solutions.
Earlier, in 2023, Rheinmetall announced that it will open a maintenance service hub in Romania to support military equipment used in Ukraine’s war against Russia.
Located close to the Ukrainian and Hungarian borders, the facility is designed to maintain and support Western combat systems in service in Ukraine.
