An 18-month-old Berlin startup is now a Bundeswehr strike-drone supplier
STARK Defence, founded 18 months ago, is scaling into a core Bundeswehr loitering-munition supplier, and says a European NATO buyer just quadrupled its Virtus order.
STARK Defence, founded 18 months ago, is scaling into a core Bundeswehr loitering-munition supplier, and says a European NATO buyer just quadrupled its Virtus order.
A European NATO member quadrupled its order for STARK Defence's Virtus loitering munition after a first delivery batch landed, the Berlin company said on June 3, the German trade outlet ESUT noted. STARK named neither the buyer nor the volume. Chief sales officer Jan-Patrick Helmsen tied the move to the firm's ability to scale fieldable systems fast. Treat the size as a company figure, unconfirmed by the customer.
What is on firmer ground is how quickly STARK has moved from startup to Bundeswehr supplier. Germany's parliamentary budget committee approved contracts worth about 268 million euros each for STARK and Helsing in February to supply loitering munitions to the German military, Today's Startup News wrote. STARK's Virtus and Helsing's HX-2 were the picks. A broader German framework could reach roughly 2.4 billion euros, with about 280 million committed for 2026 to equip a brigade stationed in Lithuania by year's end.
Virtus is an electric vertical-takeoff drone that flies up to 60 kilometers and carries a warhead of up to three kilograms, ESUT detailed. It is built to identify and strike targets on its own, then detonate on impact. The kill decision stays with a human. "Target selection, confirmation and the use of weapon effects are always carried out by humans," STARK's Martin Rudolph told Militaer Aktuell, calling it part of the system design, not just an ethical line.
The company holds a Bundeswehr framework for several thousand units for the army's Brigade 45 and recently flew coordinated swarms, per ESUT. STARK supplies combat drones to Ukraine and feeds front-line use straight back into the design, Rudolph said, citing electronic warfare as the hardest test.
The money is tracking the contracts. STARK is raising at least 300 million euros at about a 2.5 billion euro valuation, backed by Peter Thiel's Founders Fund, the Financial Times noted, via TheNextWeb and TechFundingNews. That roughly doubles a valuation that crossed one billion euros only in February. Founded in 2024 by Quantum Systems veteran Florian Seibel and Johannes Schaback, the firm is 18 months old.
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Subscribe Free →The wedge is the speed. Ukraine compressed Europe's drone-buying cycle from years to months, and a company that did not exist two years ago is now a primary strike-drone source for a NATO army. Whether STARK can ship at brigade volume, not just raise at it, is the next test.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is STARK Defence's Virtus?
Virtus is an AI-supported loitering munition, a "kamikaze drone." ESUT details it as an electric vertical-takeoff system that flies up to 60 kilometers and carries a warhead of up to three kilograms, designed to identify and strike targets before detonating on impact.
Did a NATO partner really quadruple its Virtus order?
STARK said on June 3 that an unnamed European NATO member quadrupled an existing Virtus contract after a first delivery batch, ESUT said. STARK gave no buyer or volume, and the customer has not confirmed the figure, so it should be read as a company claim.
How big are STARK's Bundeswehr contracts?
Per Today's Startup News, Germany's budget committee approved contracts worth about 268 million euros each for STARK and Helsing in February. A broader framework could reach roughly 2.4 billion euros, with about 280 million committed for 2026.
Who decides when Virtus strikes?
A human. STARK's Martin Rudolph told Militaer Aktuell that target selection, confirmation and weapon use are always carried out by people, and that the human-in-the-loop principle is built into the system design.
How much is STARK worth now?
The Financial Times wrote, via TheNextWeb and TechFundingNews, that STARK is raising at least 300 million euros at about a 2.5 billion euro valuation, backed by Peter Thiel's Founders Fund. That roughly doubles a valuation that passed one billion euros in February.
What is STARK's link to Ukraine?
STARK supplies combat drones to Ukraine and feeds front-line use back into Virtus, Rudolph told Militaer Aktuell, pointing to electronic warfare as the hardest operating environment.
AI-generated summary, reviewed by an editor. More on our AI guidelines.
Marcus Schuler
Marcus Schuler edits BattlePolicy, a daily defense-technology brief connecting the companies and capabilities behind modern war to the contest among Europe, the US, Russia, and China.