iscover
Rheinmetall and Anduril Industries have announced a major strategic partnership to co-develop and deliver a new generation of software-defined autonomous air systems and advanced propulsion technologies for European defence forces.
Centred on three proven capabilities with room for future expansion, the collaboration focuses on the development of a European variant of Anduril’s Barracuda, part of a family of low-cost, mass-producible autonomous air vehicles, to be integrated into Rheinmetall’s “Battlesuite” digital sovereignty framework.
This agreement will also support the development of a European variant of Fury, Anduril’s high-performance, multi-mission Group 5 autonomous air vehicle, also to be incorporated into Rheinmetall’s Battlesuite, and new industrial opportunities to manufacture solid rocket motors for European use, leveraging Anduril’s rapid production methodologies.
These cutting-edge systems will be jointly developed and manufactured by Rheinmetall and Anduril across Europe, engaging local sovereign suppliers and industrial partners as part of a long-term investment in regional defence capability.
“This represents a new model of defence collaboration, one grounded in shared production, operational relevance and respect for sovereignty,” said Anduril CEO Brian Schimpf. “Together with Rheinmetall, we’re delivering autonomous systems that are rapidly scalable, mission-flexible and aligned with NATO’s evolving operational needs.”
Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger echoed that sentiment, saying: “Rheinmetall has long stood for reliability, scalability and strategic depth in defence manufacturing. By integrating Anduril’s innovative solutions into our European production ecosystem and sovereignty-focused Battlesuite framework, we’re expanding that foundation with cutting-edge autonomous capabilities that are modular, rapidly fielded and mission-ready.”
The collaboration reflects a “built with, not for” philosophy that prioritises sovereign control, adaptability and interoperability across European defence forces. Rather than relying on restrictive, proprietary systems, the Rheinmetall–Anduril model embraces agile co-development, enabling NATO partners to adapt and shape capabilities to their specific operational requirements.
The Barracuda and Barracuda-M systems offer European militaries a highly affordable, modular autonomous air vehicle optimised for mass production and adaptable to a range of payloads and targeting modes. This makes them ideally suited to support Europe’s growing demand for flexible, scalable aerial capabilities.
Meanwhile, the inclusion of Fury, designed to work as part of manned-unmanned aircraft teams, will enable countries to customise their own command-and-control frameworks while benefiting from a system that delivers advanced fighter-like performance and integration of a wide variety of mission payloads and sensors.
The push into solid rocket motor production is aimed at bolstering Europe’s strategic independence in propulsion technology, ensuring reliable supply chains and industrial redundancy at a time when domestic capacity remains under development.
This new partnership builds on previous joint efforts between Rheinmetall and Anduril, including a layered counter-uncrewed aerial system solution and their combined bid for the US Army’s Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle program.
In contrast to traditional defence acquisition models that can tie nations to a single vendor, the Rheinmetall–Anduril partnership champions speed, modularity and sovereign development, empowering European allies to rapidly adopt and adapt autonomous capabilities within a shared NATO-aligned architecture.
