BERLIN, July 14. /TASS/. The Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), a major stakeholder in Germany’s Volkswagen (VW) AG, has blocked a contract with Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defense Systems for the production of components for the Iron Dome air defense system, the Bild newspaper reported.

According to Bild, Rafael Advanced Defense Systems originally planned to organize the production of Iron Dome components at Volkswagen’s plant in Osnabruck, which is currently facing financial problems. Now that the QIA, Volkswagen’s third largest shareholder, has vetoed the deal with Israel, Rafael is looking at organizing an assembly line for Tamir interceptor missiles in India, it said.

The deal was blocked despite the memorandum of understanding signed by the parties in April. Qatar Investment Authority, a sovereign wealth fund, holds 17% of the voting shares and 10.4% of Volkswagen’s total share capital, giving it a say in decision-making. A Volkswagen spokesperson told Bild that the concern is assessing the Osnabruck plant’s prospects after 2027, when its current car production is due to end. The company is in talks with defense sector firms to ensure secure long-term employment prospects. The VW plant in Osnabruck currently employs 2,300 people.

Meanwhile, according to Bild, state-run Israeli company Rafael’s top priority is to optimize its production and supply chains. And in the current situation, India appears to be a more preferred choice. Commenting on the planned takeover of an Israeli transport company by the German shipping line Hapag-Lloyd (in which the QIA holds a 12.3% stake), Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz stated that this deal "does not safeguard Israel’s national security interests, especially in emergency situations."

So, India may become the first Asian country outside Israel to manufacture missiles for the Iron Dome, Bild noted. In recent years, Rafael has expanded its production outside Israel: in 2024, it launched production of Tamir missiles in Arkansas, US, jointly with the local company Raytheon. But it looks like that this production will never get off the ground in Germany, the newspaper added.