Rheinmetall to establish modern defence industry centre in Hungary
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Rheinmetall will establish a modern defence industry development and engineering centre in Zalaegerszeg with an investment of approximately HUF 3.7 billion (EUR 9.5 million), creating 80 highly skilled jobs, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó announced on Friday at the site.
According to a statement from the ministry, the minister reported at the announcement of Rheinmetall’s new investment that the German company will set up a defence industry centre in the city worth HUF 3.7 billion, for which the government will provide HUF 560 million (EUR 1.7 million) in support, thus contributing to the creation of 80 highly qualified jobs.
In his speech, he explained that this new facility will carry out development and engineering activities related to military vehicles. With this investment, Hungary is moving closer to the goal set in the Zrínyi 2026 program: to equip the Hungarian Armed Forces with modern equipment, produced domestically to the greatest possible extent.
He emphasised that the defence industry is the most modern industrial sector, where cutting-edge technologies must be applied. The presence of this sector, he noted, creates opportunities for comprehensive modernisation across the entire Hungarian economy, as it also requires numerous suppliers from the electronics, metal, and chemical industries.
Szijjártó warned that humanity is currently living in an age of dangers, and it is no exaggeration to say that this is the most tense period since World War II.
He remarked that Hungary has been living for years in the shadow of the war in Ukraine, into which there are constant attempts to drag the country: “Sometimes with crude statements from Kyiv, sometimes with pressure from Brussels, sometimes with attacks on our energy supply system. Therefore, ensuring that we stay out of the war raging in our neighbourhood requires daily struggle and daily effort,” he said.
He also lamented that although the Hungarian government has stood for peace from the very beginning, a kind of “war psychosis” prevails in Europe, where everything revolves around war.