The German government intends to purchase 12,000 one-way attack drones to strengthen its newly deployed mechanized brigade in Lithuania.
A proposed budget of 150 million euros ($173 million) has been allocated for the procurement from three German defense firms, with contracts anticipated to conclude by 2025.
Testing has already begun with Helsing and Stark, while Rheinmetall joins as the third selected supplier.
Reports from the Financial Times indicate that each firm will receive 300 million euros ($346 million) under phased delivery agreements, beginning with 10,000 drones in the initial phase.
Helsing is expected to produce half of the drones, while Stark will account for slightly more than the rest via its Virtus model.
The affordability of Helsing’s HX-2 drone earned it the largest production share, while Rheinmetall’s FV-104 represents the premium-priced option.
The manufacturers have reportedly boosted drone output ahead of the agreement. The semi-autonomous systems will feature AI-assisted navigation and target identification, maintaining a range of about 100 kilometers (62 miles) and keeping human oversight for final targeting authorization.
