With the investment of ‘Rheinmetall’, Bulgaria becomes part of the European defense ecosystem, said President Rumen Radev
UNTARLYUS – With the investment of the German defense concern “Rheinmetall” Bulgaria becomes part of the European defense ecosystem. This was stated by President Rumen Radev at a joint briefing with the company’s CEO Armin Papperger during the opening of the new high-tech ammunition factory of the company in Unterlüs in the German province of Lower Saxony.
“Rheinmetall” will invest together with the Bulgarian government in two factories – one for ammunition and one for gunpowder, Radev pointed out. Here, it is not just about joint production, but about further development of the long-term strategic partnership with Germany, creating new jobs, implementing new technologies, supporting the modernization of the Bulgarian army, as well as expanding the market of the Bulgarian arms industry, the head of state commented.
The president expressed confidence that these new productions in Bulgaria are just the beginning of fruitful cooperation.
The planned shell factory in Bulgaria will have a capacity of 100-150,000 units per year or half the capacity of the facility in Unterlüs, Papperger said. The second project – for a gunpowder factory will be of great significance given the large needs for gunpowder in Europe, he explained. The CEO of “Rheinmetall” expressed hope that by 2035, the production capacities for gunpowder could be fully operational.
The Bulgarian state and “Rheinmetall” will share the investment in the new factories in the country equally, said the chairman of the Defense Committee in the Bulgarian parliament Hristo Gadzhev. He recalled that as early as July, the government submitted a request for funding under the European security mechanism SAFE. “Bulgaria is one of the few countries that, besides buying weapons, is actually buying production and manufacturing. We will create production and it will be with a loan that will not burden the budget, Gadzhev pointed out.
On August 25, the leader of the political party GERB Boyko Borissov met in Germany with Armin Papperger to discuss the construction of two new military factories in Bulgaria. The CEO of “Rheinmetall” announced that the joint investment of the Bulgarian government and the company in the two new factories will exceed 1 billion euros.
On August 31, the chairwoman of the European Commission (EC) Ursula von der Leyen together with the Prime Minister of Bulgaria Rosen Zhelyazkov will visit the leading state enterprise in the military industry and the largest ammunition production facility in the country – “Vazovski Machine-Building Works” EAD. (28.08.2025)
