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.

Design & capabilities

The airframe uses an X-wing configuration with four electric wingtip motors that provide VTOL lift; after clearing the ground it transitions to horizontal cruise on a single rear pusher motor. Calibre Defence records an operational range of up to 100 km, a cruise speed of 120 km/h, and a terminal dive speed up to 250 km/h. Endurance is approximately 60 minutes.

The key differentiator is GNSS-free waypoint navigation based on AI object recognition: the operator designates an approximate target position, and the Virtus autonomously scans the area and locks on during its terminal run. The company claims a 1 m CEP in GPS-jammed environments. Warheads are modular and can be swapped before launch – the TDW LION STRIKE 110 shaped-charge warhead was certified in a live-fire trial in December 2025, as shown in TDW footage, while fragmentation loads are also available. A single carbon-fiber frame assembles in about five minutes, and the entire system fits in a pickup truck with no need for catapults or launchers.

At the heart of the recce-strike concept is a built-in teaming arrangement with the Quantum Systems Vector ISR drone: the Vector finds a target, relays coordinates and a data link, and the Virtus launches from the same squad to strike, all under shared Minerva AI command-and-control software.

Variants

No distinct named sub-variants are in the public record, though STARK announced two new drone products in June 2026, as reported by Tectonic Defense, and also produces the Vanta unmanned surface vessel.

Combat record / operational use

The Virtus entered operational use in Ukraine by mid-2025. The most detailed public account, published by Calibre Defence, describes a joint mission in Zaporizhzhia in which a Vector drone located a camouflaged Russian self-propelled howitzer, a squad mated a shaped-charge warhead to a Virtus, and the munition struck the target after navigating through active GPS jamming. Researchers who viewed the full footage confirmed a successful hit.

Bundeswehr Inspector General Carsten Breuer publicly denied initial reports of poor trial performance, stating that Virtus achieved “over 90%” target-engagement effectiveness in exercises, according to UNN. In parallel, AI drone swarm trials involving STARK and Quantum Systems were underway with the Bundeswehr in June 2026, per Defence Leaders. The first confirmed NATO export contract – with an unnamed Northern European country – was signed for deliveries running from February through August 2026, as noted in the same UNN report.

Advantages

• VTOL eliminates catapults and runways; a two-to-three-soldier team can deploy from any open area.
• GNSS-free AI navigation delivers a claimed 1 m CEP in heavy electronic warfare, validated in combat.
• Hot-swappable warhead modules (shaped-charge or fragmentation) allow mission-tailored loadouts without returning to base.
• Recce-strike integration with the Vector drone gives a small unit its own sensor-to-shooter loop.
• Bundeswehr and NATO Export contract, combined with backing from Sequoia, the NATO Innovation Fund, In-Q-Tel, and Project A, signal strong institutional confidence.

Drawbacks / limitations

• Production remains pre-industrial; the €300 million raise is explicitly aimed at scaling to volume, and the company “has not yet demonstrated manufacturing at the volumes that military procurement requires” (The Next Web).
• Early military trials in Germany and the UK in 2024 encountered technical problems, though the Bundeswehr later contradicted reports of poor performance.
• 60-minute endurance and 100 km range are competitive but not class-leading; longer-loitering fixed-wing designs offer different trade-offs.
• AI terminal guidance requires an operator to designate an approximate target area, giving the defender an opportunity to relocate after a single approach pass.
• A 5 kg payload ceiling limits effectiveness against very heavily protected targets; over-the-horizon kinetic performance is less than that of larger, fixed-warhead alternatives.

Counterparts

• Helsing HX-2 (Europe)
• Shahed-136 (Iran/Russia)

Outlook

The Virtus has established a rare early lead: it is one of the few European loitering munitions with confirmed combat use and an active NATO procurement pipeline. Its trajectory now hinges on converting the fundraising into production capacity that can meet Bundeswehr and allied orders, while preserving the Ukraine-embedded feedback loop that produced its operational edge. The parallel rise of Helsing’s HX-2 and the broader EDIP spending surge will define how large a share of the European OWA market STARK can capture.

Key specifications

Sources

1. Calibre Defence — “Recce-Strike insights from Quantum Systems and Stark” (25 August 2025) — https://www.calibredefence.co.uk/recce-strike-insights-from-quantum-systems-and-stark/
2. STARK Defence — “Europe’s top defence investor becomes CEO of STARK” (16 October 2025) — https://stark-defence.com/en/news/europe-s-top-defence-investor-becomes-ceo-of-stark
3. The Next Web — “Berlin’s Stark is raising €300M at a €2.5B valuation” (May 2026) — https://thenextweb.com/news/stark-defence-300-million-raise-drone-unicorn-berlin
4. UNN / Defense Express — “German startup Stark to supply Virtus drones to a NATO country in Northern Europe” (5 February 2026) — https://unn.ua/en/news/german-startup-stark-to-supply-virtus-drones-to-a-nato-country-in-northern-europe
5. Defence Leaders — “Bundeswehr Advances AI Drone Swarm Trials with STARK and Quantum Systems” (June 2026) — https://defenceleaders.com/news/bundeswehr-tests-ai-drone-swarms-with-stark
6. Tectonic Defense — “STARK Unveils Two New Drones” (June 2026) — https://tectonicdefense.com/stark-unveils-two-new-drones
7. YouTube / TDW & STARK — “TDW & STARK Prove LION STRIKE 110 on VIRTUS in Live Fire Trials” (December 2025) — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6Ig1yNPbwo
8. Sacra — Stark Defence funding, news & analysis — https://sacra.com/c/stark-defence/
9. Tech Funding News — “German defence unicorn Stark seeks €300M raise as Peter Thiel doubles down on Europe’s drone arms race” (May 2026) — https://techfundingnews.com/german-defence-unicorn-stark-seeks-e300m-raise-as-peter-thiel-doubles-down-on-europes-drone-arms-race/