Since the outbreak of the Russian full-scale war in Ukraine in February 2022, the Slovak arms industry has been going through a boom period.
2024 saw continued growth – particularly among privately owned manufacturers, while state-owned firms lagged behind.
According to the Economy Ministry’s register, more than 170 companies currently hold licences to act as intermediaries in the trade of defence industry products. Several of these are engineering firms for which arms producers form only a minor part of their client base.
Sector revenues rose by 30.1% YoY, to EUR 4.3 billion. The majority (over EUR 3.4 billion) came from the ten largest companies. These are not exclusively firms from the arms industry.
For example, the engineering companies ZF Slovakia (revenue EUR 882 million), Schaeffler Kysuce (EUR 764 million), Schaeffler Skalica (EUR 455 million) and thyssenkrupp rothe erde Slovakia (EUR 78 million) primarily manufacture products for civilian markets. (The Slovak Spectator)