Romania to build new 155mm ammunition capacity with US Ballistic at Sadu plant

Romania is moving to bring a dormant ammunition manufacturing site back into production after state-owned Uzina Mecanică Sadu signed a lease agreement with U.S. company US Ballistic for the Sadu II industrial platform.

The agreement, signed on September 15, clears the way for the development of a new production capacity for NATO-standard 155mm ammunition at the site in Bumbești-Jiu, in Romania’s Gorj County.

Interim Economy Minister Irineu Darău said US Ballistic will invest approximately $25 million in the platform’s infrastructure during the first five years of the agreement, with additional investments worth tens of millions of dollars expected for production technology and equipment.

The Sadu II site covers around 550,000 square meters and has been largely inactive for almost two decades.

Under the agreement, the site will remain in Romanian state ownership. US Ballistic will pay approximately €1.3 million in annual rent, paid in advance and indexed to inflation, while also taking over expenses related to local taxes, duties and site security.

Infrastructure improvements made by the company will remain with Uzina Mecanică Sadu once the lease ends.

Romanian authorities expect the project to create hundreds of jobs and potentially allow cooperation with the existing Sadu workforce.

The project is part of a broader effort by Bucharest to rebuild domestic ammunition manufacturing capacity as European governments seek to expand their stockpiles and reduce dependence on external suppliers.

Darău said Romania should aim to become a producer rather than simply a buyer of military equipment and ammunition, using existing state-owned industrial assets to attract foreign capital, technology and manufacturing know-how.

The Sadu agreement comes as Romania is accelerating investment across several of its ammunition plants.

Uzina Mecanică Cugir signed a separate €54 million machinery contract earlier this month as part of a wider modernization program covering NATO-standard 5.56×45mm and 12.7×99mm ammunition.

The equipment covered by that contract is intended to support production of 12.7×99mm M8, M20 and M33 cartridges, with a planned minimum line capacity of 80 rounds per minute.

Together, the projects point to a broader expansion of Romania’s ammunition industrial base, spanning small-caliber production at Cugir and planned artillery ammunition manufacturing at Sadu.

The Romanian government has increasingly emphasized local production as a condition in defense procurement and industrial cooperation programs, seeking to retain more manufacturing capacity and technical expertise inside the country.

For Sadu, the US Ballistic project would return a large part of an industrial complex that has stood unused for years to active defense production. The next stage will be the installation of manufacturing equipment and the start of the 155mm production line.