Stark Virtus

Germany’s combat-proven eVTOL loitering munition — a VTOL, AI-guided one-way attacker that pairs with reconnaissance drones for EW-resilient precision strikes.

Overview

The Stark Virtus, also referred to as the One-Way Effector – Vertical (OWE-V), is a German electric vertical-takeoff-and-landing (eVTOL) loitering munition designed for frontline precision strike. Developed by Berlin-based STARK Defence GmbH, it weighs up to 30 kg, carries a modular 5 kg warhead, navigates without GPS using computer-vision AI, and can be deployed by a small infantry team from any open area in under ten minutes. Operational use in Ukraine, a Bundeswehr contract, and a confirmed NATO export order have positioned it as an early European standard in the emerging one-way-attack (OWA) market.

Development

STARK Defence was founded in 2024 by Florian Seibel – the co-founder of Quantum Systems, manufacturer of the Vector ISR drone – and Johannes Schaback, with the explicit goal of delivering a combat-informed European loitering munition. From the start, development teams were embedded in Ukraine, running a partial production line there to iterate rapidly on frontline feedback, a model Calibre Defence credits with giving the Virtus an unusually short design-to-combat cycle. Within roughly one year of the company’s founding, the Virtus was flying reconnaissance-strike missions in Ukraine, per a STARK press release that also announced Uwe Horstmann (Project A co-founder) as CEO. The company crossed the €1 billion valuation threshold in early 2026 and as of mid-2026 was seeking an additional €300 million at a €2.5 billion valuation to fund industrial-scale production, according to The Next Web.

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