Israeli defense company | Elbit cancels Sangerhausen – but expands presence in Germany

Marcus Faber, Vice President of the German-Israeli Society, is also in the driver's seat at Elbit Systems Germany. The FDP politician headed the Defense Committee in the Bundestag until 2025, then he moved to the arms company as deputy head of political affairs. Photo: dpa/Christophe Gateau The settlement of the Israeli defense company Elbit Systems in Sangerhausen has apparently failed. The location is not an option, reports the “Mitteldeutsche Zeitung” published in Halle, citing a company spokesman. The location does not meet the necessary requirements for the company's needs. Elbit didn't get any more specific. In general, it simply said: "Factors such as the size of the property, timely building permits, availability of qualified workers and transport connections are crucial for us."

For months, Elbit Systems Germany had been negotiating with the city about a settlement on 140 hectares in a new industrial area directly on Autobahn 38. There was talk of creating 400 jobs. The “Keep Elbit Out – No Weapons Factory in Sangerhausen” alliance, which is supported by organizations from Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt, mobilized against the project. In August, the alliance organized a demonstration with 500 participants. Local entrepreneurs and farmers also opposed the settlement because they feared an increased shortage of skilled workers, unfair wage competition and the loss of valuable arable land.

The rejection of Sangerhausen is not a rejection of the expansion in Germany. According to its Germany boss Marian Rachow, Elbit Systems Germany wants to employ well over 1,000 people and build up to eight new locations within three years. These include factories for kamikaze drones, artillery rocket systems and ammunition. In addition to the headquarters in Ulm, there are known branches in Koblenz and Wilhelmshaven. According to nd research, an office in Berlin was closed in 2026.

In March 2026, Elbit announced the founding of the joint venture Europuls GmbH with the German-French defense company KNDS, which is based in Kassel. The artillery rocket system of the same name is to be manufactured there. The Bundeswehr has ordered five Europuls launchers for initial operational capability. Elbit Systems Germany also cooperates with Rheinmetall on an automated 155-millimeter wheeled howitzer system, with the start-up Cucuyo on military laser communication, and with Diehl and Thyssen Krupp Marine Systems.

Elbit Systems is already closely linked to politics in Germany. In June, three CDU members of the Bundestag visited the Ulm headquarters. In September, a five-member advisory board was announced under the chairmanship of Peter Tauber, the former CDU general secretary, who was also a parliamentary state secretary in the Ministry of Defense as a member of the Bundestag. Other members of the Elbit advisory board include former naval chief Andreas Krause, retired major general Wolfgang Köpke and Grisha Alroi-Arloser, chairman of the German-Israeli Society and head of the Israeli-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry until 2023. The advisory board advises Elbit Systems Germany on corporate and industrial strategy.

Marcus Faber from the FDP is a tricky personality. He headed the Defense Committee from 2024 until he left the Bundestag in March 2025, eight months later he became Vice President for Political Affairs at Elbit Systems Germany. Faber is also vice president of the German-Israeli Society.

In the Bundestag's lobby register, Faber is named as one of three people who lobby directly for Elbit. For 2025, the group reported lobbying expenses of 520,001 to 530,000 euros. According to its own information, Elbit Systems Germany also wants to set up an office in Brussels.

For the first time, Elbit Systems Germany also organized a “parliamentary evening” on the roof of the Bundestag last November 4th. According to the company's information on the professional platform Linkedin, almost 200 guests and numerous MPs came. The pictures show, among others, the head of the Israeli parent company, Bezhalel Machlis, and Germany boss Rachow. The keynote speech was given by Vice Admiral Thomas Daum, head of the Bundeswehr's Cyber ​​and Information Space Command.

Such events are also intended to promote company sales. They are initiated by lobby organizations such as Naffo, which, in the utmost secrecy, persuaded the Green deputy group leader Konstantin von Notz to invite the ex-Mossad boss David Barnea to a "parliamentary breakfast" next November 25th. Human rights organizations see him as a suspected war criminal and are calling on the federal government to arrest him.

After leaving Mossad last summer, Barnea moved to the Israeli defense company Ondas, where he was responsible for international sales. Naffo does not answer any questions from "nd" about the planned breakfast with the former head of the secret service - not even whether the email address for the association given in the Bundestag's lobby register is correct.

Another lobbying organization for Israel's interests and the country's arms industry is, according to its own statement, Elnet. The organization is financed, among other things, by a support association Elnet (Felnet), into which, according to the lobby register, Elbit also contributes.

On Wednesday evening, the registered association once again presented its "Elnet Awards", including to personalities who support Israeli government policy in Germany. The editor-in-chief of the “Jüdische Allgemeine”, Philipp Peyman Engel, was honored.

Also present again was the left-wing politician Dietmar Bartsch, who has held high positions in the party and parliamentary group in the past. He presented a “Culture Prize” from Elnet to the “Voices after Auschwitz” conference series.

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