Israel's Aurelius, German state to take over VW's Osnabrueck plant for defence projects

Aurelius and Lower Saxony have signed a statement of intent to acquire Volkswagen's Osnabrück factory and shift it toward defence production when vehicle assembly ends in 2027. Rafael is expected to anchor the site, with initial work focused on components for air-defence systems such as Iron Dome and David's Sling rather than confirmed production of every system in the company's portfolio. The conversion could retain around 1,400 of the plant's approximately 1,800 jobs while creating a European manufacturing base for defence equipment. The agreement remains preliminary, and ownership terms, final contracts, precise product allocation, investment levels, production capacity and start dates still require negotiation and approval.