Rheinmetall Starts EU-Made Kamikaze Drone Production in Germany

Manufactured within the EU Rheinmetall Begins Production of Kamikaze Drones

2026-05-12 Source: dpa 2 min Reading Time

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A drone circles in the sky, selects a target, dives and detonates on impact — in the war in Ukraine such scenes have become commonplace. Rheinmetall has now entered production of these types of aircraft.

Loitering Munition FV-014(Source: Rheinmetall) — Loitering Munition FV-014
(Source: Rheinmetall)

Germany’s largest arms manufacturer has started producing kamikaze drones. Company CEO Armin Papperger said at the firm’s online annual general meeting: “We are now moving into serial production of this system at the Neuss site.” He was referring to a drone that can loiter for up to 70 minutes and then, if it has identified a target, dive and explode.

A Rheinmetall spokesman said the model is already being produced at a site in Braunschweig and that production is about to be expanded to Neuss near Düsseldorf. The Neuss plant previously made automotive parts; Rheinmetall has been divesting its struggling auto‑supplier business.

The Neuss factory is to be used for the manufacture of defence products in future, including the FV‑014 drone model. The Bundeswehr recently placed orders for such munitions worth €300 million, and a framework contract allows for further purchases. First deliveries are scheduled for next year.

Rheinmetall is realising its plans to build cruise missiles with Destinus in the future, as can be seen here ... (Source: Destinus)

More than an hour’s flight time

According to the company, the drones have a range of up to 100 kilometres and carry a warhead weighing about four kilos, including the fuze. The drone can remain airborne for up to 70 minutes and perform surveillance. They are loaded with explosives and are also used for reconnaissance.

The aircraft are designed for one‑time use. In industry terms they are “loitering munitions” — weapons that loiter over an area awaiting a target. Such drones are launched vertically from a container by a firing mechanism, unfold in the air and continue flying. They cannot be recovered for reuse: if time expires without a target being found, the device will be deliberately crashed in a controlled manner.

Rheinmetall developed the drone within a few months, Papperger said at the online AGM. “With a four‑kilogram warhead it combines reconnaissance and effect.” He emphasised that a key point is that the system is entirely manufactured within the EU — the drone in Germany and the warhead in Italy.

Rivals Stark and Helsing have also received Bundeswehr orders for similar systems; Rheinmetall is a later entrant to this market.

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