Rheinmetall, Valhalla Turrets collaborate on armoured vehicle contracts

A Slovenian weapons systems manufacturer is in talks with German defence industry giant Rheinmetall and the state-owned Slovenian Sovereign Holding to ramp up production amid EU efforts to nurture a home-grown defence industry in the face of geopolitical uncertainty.

Miloš Milosavljević, the director of Valhalla Turrets, confirmed talks were taking place as he appeared on a current affairs show on national public broadcaster TV Slovenija, CE Report quotes The Slovenia Times.

"We will definitely be very happy if Slovenia decides to join the project because it would lend it significant credibility," said Milosavljević.

This would create the largest weapons equipment company in the country, he said, but added it would not be possible to carry it out at such a scale without state support.

Slovenian Sovereign Holding, which manages stakes in dozens of companies on behalf of the state, has not confirmed any of this, only saying in a press release that it was bound by law not to disclose any information, facts or circumstances related to the state's equity investments.

The news comes just days after the Defence Ministry announced it had picked Valhalla Turrets to supply twelve remote-controlled weapons stations for the army's existing armoured vehicles in collaboration with Rheinmetall, a contract worth €45 million.

Valhalla Turrets was founded in 2019 and has quickly become a major player in what is still a tiny domestic defence sector, helped in part by a Defence Ministry drive to finance defence research and development.

The company currently makes a light-weight remote controlled weapons station called Loki, and a beefier version for larger armoured vehicles called Mangart.