Interior Ministry prevents export of Steyr assault rifles again

The global arms industry is booming, and the whole of Europe is expanding its defense industry in view of the geopolitical uncertainties. Only Austria is different. The Interior Ministry is again blocking the export of Steyr assault rifles.

This is the third order that the Interior Ministry has awarded to the Upper Austrian gunsmith. On December 22, 2025, Steyr Arms applied for an export license for 20 Steyr AUG A3 (“Nightfighter”) to the United Arab Emirates. It was a test delivery for a tender; the rifles were intended to be used to equip ground troops. The Emirates (UAE) are a long-standing customer of the Austrians, with a high image value.

But on March 30, 2026, the ministry announced that the export of war material from Austria to the Emirates was “unauthorized until further notice”. The UAE has been under attack by Iran since February 28th “and has consequently been in an international armed conflict with Iran since then,” says the ministry’s statement, which is available to KURIER.

However, the time of the call for tenders and the application was before the start of the Iran War, which is likely to have ended for the time being.

As we hear, Minister of Economic Affairs Wolfgang Hattmannsdorfer (ÖVP) to be quite displeased. A few weeks after the cancellation, he met the Emirates’ Deputy Foreign Trade Minister at the European Forum in Wachau, Fahad Al Gergawi. Austria has had economic ties with the Emirates for many years. The state-owned oil company Adnoc is a major shareholder in the partially state-owned OMV and is currently implementing the largest industrial project in local economic history.

Chancellor Christian Stocker agreed with Premier in April during his trip to India in the presence of a large Austrian business delegation Narendra Modi intensified cooperation in the defense sector and in the fight against terrorism. Austria’s defense companies should be given access to the Indian market. However, if you follow the logic of the Interior Ministry, nothing should come of this because, as is well known, India is in a long-standing military conflict with Pakistan.

Last year, the Interior Ministry refused the export permit for four sample rifles to Tunisia, a test delivery for a tender by the local police. The weapons company in idyllic Kleinraming has been supplying the Tunisian police since 1978. Tunisia, which desperately wanted Steyr products, extended the tender deadline for Austria three times, but the deal did not go through.

“Competitive disadvantages”

In 2025, the Interior Ministry also banned the export of 1,000 assault rifles and accessories to Iraq. Although Austria trained Iraqi police officers and supported the establishment of security structures. One of the arguments cited was an “anti-LGBTQI+” law.

The ministry does not want to say anything about the specific case, citing ongoing proceedings. Due to the volatile geopolitical situation, the requirements for permits to export weapons must be carefully examined. In 2026, nine of Steyr Arms’ 19 export applications were approved and 10 were open. A total of 123 export applications were submitted by Austrian companies this year, 74 were approved, 45 are currently still open (i.e. not approved), explains a spokesman for the ministry.

In 2025, Steyr Arms received 22 of 24 applications approved, so the criticism that nothing would be approved is not justified based on the numbers, argues the spokesman.

The CEO of Steyr Arms, Milan Slapakdoes not want to give the KURIER any statement on confidential details of contracts and export applications. But says: “In general, the export of military products from Austria to non-EU or non-NATO member states is becoming increasingly difficult due to lengthy and unpredictable approval processes, which puts the Austrian defense industry in a very disadvantageous position in global competition. We are therefore examining alternative options for designing our supply chain in order to protect the interests of our employees, shareholders and customers. We remain in constant active communication with government representatives on this topic and the question of the increasingly difficult and lengthy approval processes.”

“Alternative options” in plain language means: Production is likely to remain in Austria, but expansion will only take place at foreign locations in the USA, France and Slovenia, as we hear in the industry. This is how Steyr committed 2025 Gerard Wayne Weber as the new CEO for Steyr Arms USA, he will lead the expansion from Alabama, the company announced. The top manager was president of the large German manufacturer Heckler & Koch.

The Steyr owner RSBC, which owns the pistol and armaments company Arex in Slovenia, doesn’t just want to step on the gas in the USA. Last year, RSBC, together with its French partner Rivolier, took over the oldest and only manufacturer of small arms in France, Verney-Carron.

Waiting for counter trades

The well-announced industrial cooperation between Austrian companies worth 400 million euros as a counter-deal for the procurement of twelve fighter jets from the Italian manufacturer Leonardo for around 1.5 billion euros is a long time coming. As the profile reported, there are no concrete projects to date. Neither the Ministry of Economics nor Leonardo nor the Chamber of Commerce could or wanted to report on collaborations. The Ministry of Economic Affairs concluded a contract with the Italians at the end of November.

There were no counter-deals for more than 20 years because of the Eurofighter scandal. As reported, due to pressure from the domestic economy, the government is allowing so-called counter-deals – now called “industrial cooperation” – again.