Romanian company ROMARM and Germany’s Rheinmetall will implement the project to build a gunpowder factory in Romania. The European Commission has allocated 47 million euros for this investment under the ASAP (Act in Support of Ammunition Production) initiative.
On Friday, Romanian Economy Minister Radu Oprea announced on the Digi24 television channel that it would be “the most effective gunpowder in the world.” Oprea also reported that the joint factory project is in the preparation phase and that German technicians have already arrived in Romania. In an interview with Radio Free Europe, Oprea revealed that the ministry is preparing a law that would speed up the process of obtaining permits to build facilities for the arms industry.
As Radio Free Europe acknowledges, it is currently unknown where the https://defence-industry.eu/rheinmetall-and-romarm-to-build-powder-factory-in-romania/fabriek might be located. Romania shares a 650-km (400-mile) border with Ukraine and has repeatedly seen Russian drone fragments stray into its territory over the past year. Romanian territory is a few hundred meters from Ukrainian Danube ports, 
frequent Russian targets. One possible location is Fagaras, as there were powder production facilities there in the past. The website defenseromania.ro noted that EU support is a positive sign in the context of the post-1990 decline and degradation of gunpowder production facilities in the country. Romanian media stress that Romania is currently forced to import gunpowder from Serbia, which has close relations with Russia and is in a politically unstable situation.
Romanian sources gave no details on the total value of the investment or possible timelines for its completion. On Friday, the European Commission decided to allocate 500 million euros to European arms companies to increase production of artillery ammunition meant to replenish their own stockpiles and also intended for aid to Ukraine.
The EC’s decision aims to enable the European defense industry to increase its production capacity to 2 million shells per year by the end of 2025. Currently, these capacities are estimated at just over 1 million per year. The EU funds are also expected to stimulate additional industry investment through co-financing, which is expected to result in a total investment amount of about €1.4 billion.
In summary, the strategic partnership between CN ROMARM SA and Rheinmetall to build a state-of-the-art gunpowder factory underlines the growing importance of European cooperation in defense technology and production. The initiative not only strengthens military capabilities, but also shows an important step towards European self-reliance in munitions production.
Kudos to both teams for pioneering this project that is ready to set new benchmarks in the industry!!!