Rheinmetall to Build Cruise Missiles With Destinus JV

Cooperation with dutch Destinus B.V. Rheinmetall also plans to build cruise missiles in future

2026-04-14 From Detlev Karg 1 min Reading Time

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Defence group Rheinmetall is expanding and plans to build cruise missiles in future. The Düsseldorf-based company announced the creation of a joint venture with European missile manufacturer Destinus, which is headquartered in the Netherlands. This would put the company in competition with the Taurus cruise missile.

Destinus B.V. has many years of experience in the manufacture of cruise missiles and guided rocket systems. (File photo)(Picture: Destinus B.V.) — Destinus B.V. has many years of experience in the manufacture of cruise missiles and guided rocket systems. (File photo)
(Picture: Destinus B.V.)

“This will manufacture, market and supply advanced missile systems. These include cruise missiles and ballistic rocket artillery,” Rheinmetall said. The new company, “Rheinmetall Destinus Strike Systems”, is expected to launch in the second half of 2026, subject to the necessary approvals. Rheinmetall is to hold 51 per cent of the shares and Destinus 49 per cent. The joint venture expands qualification and series-production capacities at Rheinmetall’s German industrial facilities.

Volumes in the tens of thousands rather than thousands

According to the press release, Rheinmetall chief executive Armin Papperger said: “We must expand the industrial base for modern defence systems in Europe.” The joint venture combines Rheinmetall’s production capacities and experience in managing major programmes with Destinus’s technology and system design. “Europe is entering a new phase in scaling up missile production,” added Mikhail Kokorich, co-founder and chief executive of Destinus. “Modern conflicts are defined by volume and cost per effect. Missile systems are evolving from products manufactured in limited quantities into industrial-scale products. Today, the real constraint in Europe is not demand, but industrial capacity.”

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