Report: Volkswagen plant to produce components for Iron Dome
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Volkswagen management has approved Israeli defense company Rafael to begin producing components for the Iron Dome missile defense system at its plant in Osnabrück as early as next year, according to reports in Germany on Sunday.
The report comes amid Volkswagen’s restructuring plans, which reportedly include cutting around 50,000 jobs and closing four plants.
Bloomberg reported last week that an earlier proposal faced opposition from Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund, one of Volkswagen’s largest shareholders. According to German broadcaster NDR, a new structure under consideration would see the state of Lower Saxony take control of parts of the plant and establish a joint venture with Rafael, avoiding a direct agreement between Volkswagen and the Israeli defense company.
Bloomberg said the plant would produce supporting equipment for Iron Dome, including heavy transport vehicles, launchers and generators, but not the Tamir interceptor missiles themselves.
