A war against Russia until 2029? If you believe René Obermann (62), head of supervisory board of Europe’s second largest armaments company airbus, this horror scenario could become a reality. “Vladimir Putin has switched his country to war economy, he is upgrading massively,” said Obermann recently in the “Handelsblatt”. A few days earlier, Obermann had told the manager magazine: “We need tactical nuclear weapons to detort.”
Citizens in Europe put such scenarios in extreme unrest, for armaments companies and their lobbyists they belong to the everyday business model. Since the United States presented itself as an ally that you cannot necessarily count on in an emergency, European politicians have been on alert. Billions of orders are waiting for the armaments industry.
The EU wants to invest 800 billion euros in defense, one European country after the other increases the budget for drones, tanks and the like recently the Bundestag and the Federal Council decided not only To put 500 billion euros in infrastructure and climate protection, but also loosened the debt brake and thus opened the way to higher defense spending. Not only do the established industry sizes like Airbus want to Rhine metal Or benefit from Diehl. He also attracts companies that have not yet made a name for themselves with arms production.
More and more companies are currently taking into account – or a return – into the armaments business. Also in order to be able to plan long -term income from a systemically relevant and state -informed future industry in times of weakening.
Car companies prepare
The armaments business is not least for companies from the Automotive industry tempting. The industry has with partly violent burglaries to fight. At the same time, carmakers and car suppliers have the know-how and the infrastructure to build machines and parts for various purposes-not only for civil use. You could benefit from the current geopolitical tensions.
For example the Porsche SE. The VW and Porsche major shareholder announced this week, to strive for further core participation alongside its two main investments. The PSE currently has two billion euros in gross license, so that it is able to act, said CEO Hans Dieter Pötsch (73) on Wednesday. “We also work on such projects.” The fields of defense and infrastructure are interesting, said Pötsch. In 2024, PSE had a net loss of 20 billion euros because the two core participations in 2024 suffered from the weak China business in 2024.
For Volkswagen, an entry into the armaments business would offer the opportunity to reduce existing overcapacity in the works. “We take a very targeted look at what needs are there, for example, if it should also be about military vehicles,” said VW boss Oliver Blume (56) during the annual balance sheet press conference in March. If VW builds military vehicles, for example, the group could solve its overcapacity problem in the works of Dresden and Osnabrück: Auto production 2026 and 2027 expires there. So far it has not yet been determined how the works should be used afterwards.
“So far we have issued almost 80 percent of our budgets for non-European systems (…) We should order everything we need in Europe”
Airbus supervisory board René Obermann
An advantage of cooperation between the European automotive industry and the military would be that both of them are more independent of the USA could set up. At the same time, business and politics are voicing louder that the European military should receive less military equipment from the United States. Most recently, Obermann also criticized the Magazin manager that “almost 80 percent of our budgets were spent on non-European systems, for example for the extremely expensive F35 fighter aircraft from the USA. We should order everything we need in Europe.”
Freudenberg checks return to the armaments business
An automotive supplier Freudenberg near Heidelberg is a car supplier who had once turned away from the armaments industry and is now considering returning. The company produces parts and textiles for different industries, including the automotive industry and the energy sector. During the Second World War, the company was a “supplier company of the armaments industry” and “produced seals for various military applications”, as it is said on the company website. Since then, Freudenberg has had nothing to do with the armaments industry, in the group’s business principles is anchored: “We do not manufacture products that are intended to harm people (e.g. weapons).”
This could change, as the “Handelsblatt” reported. Freudenberg-CEO Mohsen Sohi (66) told the newspaper that you have no choice but to ask yourself the current global political issues: “The question is: we can say’ no ’ Germany Seals or other Freudenberg products need military vehicles? ” The business was relatively good for Freudenberg in 2024: Because the group is broadly positioned with products in 42 market segments, it suffered comparatively little from the automotive industry’s crisis and was able to grow in 2024 both in terms of sales (EUR 11.95 billion) and the operating result (1.13 billion euros).
Deutz wants to produce engines for wheel armor
The year 2024 looked significantly worse at the engine manufacturer Deutz. Deutz produces engines for lifting platforms, tractors, harvesting machines, excavators and other large machines. Last year Deutz released almost a quarter fewer engines than a year earlier. The sales of the overall group fell by 13.5 percent to 1.8 billion euros. This is also why company boss Sebastian Schulte (46) is planning to expand the armaments business. “For us, Defense is a very important and interesting market with great growth potential,” said Schulte of the dpa. Meanwhile, Deutz comes into play as an engine manufacturer for small and medium -sized military vehicles and wheelworkers.
For us, Defense is an interesting market with great growth potential
Deuz boss Sebastian Schulte
The Cologne -based company already delivers the engine for a Polish troop transporter and auxiliary motors for combat tanks. In addition, the company installs new engines into old tanks so that they can be used for longer. In the current financial year, Defense is expected to make sales in the middle double-digit million-euro area, said Schulte. It is only a niche for the company for the time being.
The managing director did not make a forecast of how strong Deutz’s military business would be in the coming years. It was too early for that, said the manager: “We want to systematically expand the defense business.” At the beginning of 2025 the company had a purchase of the marine division of Thyssenkrupp considered, where, among other things, nuclear submarines are not produced.
Schaeffler, Jopp and Trumpf mix with
In addition to VW, Freudenberg and Deutz, according to media reports, the automotive suppliers also draw Schaeffler, Jopp and Trumpf consider an expansion or an introduction to the armaments business. As the business news agency Bloomberg reports, Jopp managing director Martin Buchs does not want to deliver circuit and cooling systems in the future, but also to the military: “We see a lot of opportunities in the armaments industry,” said Buchs. The company had to delete every fifth place in the past five years.
Automobile supplier Schaeffler is also looking for partners from the armaments industry: “Schaeffler can do more than car. We can and want more,” said Schaeffler CEO Klaus Rosenfeld (66). The manager sees opportunities in the armaments business: “We will definitely take a closer look at that.” Schaeffler slipped into the loss zone last year.
Mechanical engineers Trumpf, the sales of which has shrunk by 3.6 percent last year and whose revenues depend on 20 percent on the auto industry, plans to build a laser for drone defense after more than 100 years without contacts with the armaments industry.
Steel manufacturer Salzgitter founds “Task Force Defense”
Industrial groups also want to benefit from the upcoming armaments expenditure apart from the automotive industry. Most recently, the Salzgitter steel company announced, for example, One wanted to significantly expand your armaments business. “We are broadly positioned with compensated sheets for the defense industry,” said CEO Gunnar Groebler (52) in March of the Reuters news agency. A “Task Force Defense” was founded in order to be able to present the offer for the armaments industry. The bottom line was that Salzgitter had a loss of 348 million euros last year.
More on the subject
So far, the greatest profiteer of the latest boom has been the classic armaments of Rheinmetall, but which, however, cannot operate the increasing demand by far. The Rheinmetall share has increased by more than 100 percent since the beginning of the year. Rheinmetall boss Armin Papperger (62) recently spoke of a beginning era of upgrading for Europe, which “At Rheinmetall, we also offer growth prospects for the coming years that we have never experienced”.
Freudenberg, Trumpf and Co. now want to benefit from this growth – no matter what was once written in the business statutes.