Rafael, Lower Saxony and Aurelius to develop Volkswagen site in Germany

The Volkswagen automobile factory is seen on March 27, 2026 in Osnabrueck, Germany. Volkswagen had previously slated the plant, which produces the T-Roc passenger car, to close in 2027, though the company is reportedly now in talks with Rafael Advanced Defense Systems of Israel to retool the plant and produce components for the "Iron Dome" missile defense system. (Photo by Hesham Elsherif/Getty Images)

JERUSALEM — Israel’s Rafael today announced it has entered into a partnership with the German state of Lower Saxony and investment fund Aurelius Capital , which is “aimed at developing the Volkswagen site in Osnabrück into a center of excellence for innovative security and defense solutions.”

The deal cements expectations that had been circulating since May that envisioned Rafael playing a role at a Volkswagen plant in Germany, with the site potentially tapped to build parts for the Iron Dome system. However, that deal has appeared rocky at times, with reports saying a direct Rafael-VW team up may not be possible.

The solution appears to be a workaround, in which Aurelius and Lower Saxony, with Aurelius as the majority partner, will purchase the Volkswagen Osnabrück GmbH site from VW, according to a statement posted on Volkswagen’s site. The pair will create what VW’s statement called “a center of excellence for security and defense solutions. The goal is to secure the location and the majority of its jobs in the long term.”

Rafael will serve as the “anchor project” for the site, per VW, and a series of statements from different stakeholders indicate the government hopes to develop into a broader national security production areas.

The Osnabrück site has been in an iffy place for several years, with VW having said it planned to end production there in 2027. That has led local government and industry officials to try and find alternative uses for the site, in order to keep locals employed.

In a statement from the state of Lower Saxony detailing the deal, Olaf Lies, Minister-President of Lower Saxony, said that “through this Statement of Intent, we are opening up a genuine future perspective for Volkswagen’s Osnabrück site… The Statement of Intent forms part of a broader strategic realignment of the Osnabrück site, which is also supported by Volkswagen AG.”

The Minister-President of Lower Saxony noted that the vision is for Osnabrück to have the industrial foundations to position itself for the future. “This partnership creates realistic opportunities for long-term, highly skilled employment at a location that has stood for industrial excellence for 125 years” Lies added, in the statement circulated by the local government.

Localizing tactical communications for sovereign, NATO-ready C3I

Beyond foreign sales, Rafael’s model enables tech transfer, local engineering, and is a template for NATO partners.

NDR, the north German public broadcaster, added some details from locals, including union leaders praising the deal as saving the workforce.

Rafael, one of Israel’s three defense giants, is known for developing several key Israeli defense systems. It developed the Iron Dome and David’s Sling air defense system, as well as the Trophy active protection system for tanks.

“We are building a long-term industrial relationship with our German partners with the idea that the technology will be fully produced in Germany, to protect Germany and Europe” Yoav Tourgeman, Rafael’s CEO and president, said in a statement.

Speaking to Breaking Defense in July , Tourgeman said Rafael was looking at car manufacturing facilities as potential sites for collaboration in Europe.

The deal comes as Germany and other European countries seek to increase their defense industrial base in the wake of several years of war in Ukraine. This has included numerous large defense deals with Israel. Germany is acquiring the Arrow Air Defense system for more than $6 billion. In late August, Greece signed a $3.4 billion deal with Israel for air defense systems.

It’s not clear which Rafael systems would be built in Osnabrück. But there is plenty of options even for just building local systems: Rafael has already seen decades of success in Germany, with the establishment of a partnership for its EuroTrophy Gmbh facility, as well as sales of its EuroSpike system.

The statement of intent that was signed formalizes the move by Rafael to work at the Osnabrück. “The next phase will include detailed negotiations, assessments of regulatory requirements, and the necessary internal decision-making processes by all parties involved. The State of Lower Saxony will actively accompany and support this process,” the statement noted.

2026年3月27日，位于德国奥斯纳布吕克的Volkswagen汽车工厂。此前，Volkswagen曾计划于2027年关闭这家生产T-Roc乘用车的工厂。但据报道，该公司目前正与以色列拉斐尔先进防御系统公司洽谈，计划对该工厂进行改造，生产“铁穹”导弹防御系统的零部件。（图片来源：Hesham Elsherif/Getty Images）

耶路撒冷——以色列拉斐尔公司今天宣布，已与德国下萨克森州和投资基金 Aurelius Capital 达成合作，旨在“将奥斯纳布吕克的 Volkswagen 工厂发展成为创新安全和国防解决方案的卓越中心”。

这项交易巩固了自五月份以来一直流传的预期，即拉斐尔公司将在德国大众汽车工厂发挥作用，该工厂可能被选中生产“铁穹”防御系统的零部件。然而，这项交易似乎并非一帆风顺，有报道称拉斐尔与大众汽车直接合作可能并不现实。

根据大众汽车官网发布的一份声明，解决方案似乎是一种变通方案：奥雷利乌斯公司和下萨克森州政府（奥雷利乌斯公司为控股股东）将从大众汽车手中收购位于奥斯纳布吕克的大众汽车有限公司厂址。双方将共同打造大众汽车声明中所称的“安全和国防解决方案卓越中心”。其目标是长期保障该厂址及其大部分就业岗位。

据大众汽车公司称，拉斐尔将成为该基地的“核心项目”，而来自不同利益相关者的一系列声明表明，政府希望将其发展成为更广泛的国家安全生产基地。

奥斯纳布吕克工厂的前景多年来一直不明朗，大众汽车曾表示计划于 2027 年停止在该厂的生产。这促使当地政府和行业官员努力寻找该厂的其他用途，以保障当地居民的就业。

下萨克森州政府发表声明详细介绍了这项交易，下萨克森州州长奥拉夫·利斯表示：“通过这份意向声明，我们正在为大众汽车奥斯纳布吕克工厂开辟一个真正的未来前景……这份意向声明是奥斯纳布吕克工厂更广泛战略调整的一部分，大众汽车股份公司也对此表示支持。”

下萨克森州州长指出，奥斯纳布吕克的愿景是拥有稳固的工业基础，从而为未来发展奠定基础。“这项合作将为这座拥有125年卓越工业历史的城市创造长期、高技能的就业机会，”利斯在当地政府发布的声明中补充道。

为主权、符合北约标准的C3I系统实现战术通信本地化

除了对外销售，拉斐尔的模式还实现了技术转让和本地工程，并为北约合作伙伴提供了一个模板。

德国北部公共广播公司 NDR 补充了一些当地居民的报道细节，其中包括工会领导人称赞该协议挽救了劳动力。

以色列三大国防巨头之一的拉斐尔公司以研发多款关键的以色列国防系统而闻名。该公司研发了“铁穹”和“大卫投石器”防空系统，以及坦克主动防护系统“战利品”。

“我们正在与德国合作伙伴建立长期的产业关系，目标是让这项技术完全在德国生产，以保护德国和欧洲，”拉斐尔公司首席执行官兼总裁约阿夫·图尔格曼在一份声明中表示。

Tourgeman 在 7 月份接受 Breaking Defense 采访时表示，拉斐尔正在考虑将汽车制造厂作为在欧洲开展合作的潜在地点。

在乌克兰战争持续数年后，德国和其他欧洲国家正寻求扩大其国防工业基础，而这笔交易正是在此背景下达成的。这其中包括与以色列达成的多项大型国防交易。德国将斥资超过60亿美元采购“箭式”防空系统。8月下旬，希腊也与以色列签署了一项价值34亿美元的防空系统采购协议。

目前尚不清楚拉斐尔将在奥斯纳布吕克建造哪些系统。但即使只是建造本地系统，也有很多选择：拉斐尔在德国已经取得了数十年的成功，例如与合作伙伴共同建立了EuroTrophy GmbH工厂，以及销售其EuroSpike系统。

签署的意向声明正式确定了拉斐尔将前往奥斯纳布吕克工作。“下一阶段将包括详细的谈判、监管要求评估以及所有相关方必要的内部决策流程。下萨克森州将积极参与并支持这一进程。”声明指出。