Rheinmetall and Anduril Industries announced a strategic partnership to co-develop and deliver a suite of software-defined autonomous systems to extend the availability of autonomous mission systems.
The partnership is starting with the development of three proven capabilities – but is about to be extended with more next generation technologies over time:
• The integration of a European variant of Anduril´s Barracuda as part of Anduril’s family of low-cost, mass-producible autonomous air vehicles into Rheinmetall´s digital sovereignty framework (“Battlesuite”).
• The inclusion of a European variant of Anduril´s Fury, a high-performance, multi-mission group 5 autonomous air vehicle (AAV), into Rheinmetall´s digital sovereignty framework (“Battlesuite”).
• The exploration of opportunities for solid rocket motors for European use leveraging Anduril’s new production approaches.
These systems will be jointly developed and produced by the two companies, incorporating sovereign suppliers and industrial partners throughout Europe.
“This is a different model of defence collaboration, one built on shared production, operational relevance, and mutual respect for sovereignty,” said Brian Schimpf, CEO of Anduril Industries. “Together with Rheinmetall, we’re building systems that can be produced quickly, deployed widely, and adapted as NATO missions evolve.”
“Rheinmetall has always stood for reliability, scale, and strategic depth in defence manufacturing,” said Armin Papperger, CEO of Rheinmetall. “By integrating Anduril`s solutions into Rheinmetall´s European production set up and digital sovereignty framework, we’re building on that foundation to bring new kinds of autonomous capabilities into service, ones that are quick to produce, modular, and aligned with NATO’s evolving requirements.”
Built in Europe, for Europe
This partnership is a long-term shared investment in co-developing easily fielded systems tailored to the specific needs of each European regional market. It reflects a “built with, not for” philosophy—one that prioritizes European sovereignty, local control, transparency, and adaptability over dependency or lock-in.
• The integration of Barracuda and Barracuda-M into Rheinmetall´s systems will provide European militaries with an affordable autonomous air vehicle designed for hyperscale production. Its modular design supports a wide range of payloads and targeting modes making it a flexible option for the unique needs of European forces.
• The inclusion of Fury, an autonomous air vehicle designed to operate as part of manned-unmanned teams of aircraft, into Rheinmetall´s ecosystem of products allows each country to configure its own command-and-control systems and operational constraints. Fury is designed to deliver advanced fighter performance with the flexibility to integrate a variety of sensors and payloads in support of mission requirements.
• The Solid Rocket Motors effort could help ensures European access to a reliable line of propulsion systems offering industrial redundancy and delivery at scale, when domestic sources are not yet sufficient.
A Shared Approach to Industrial Defence
The partnership builds on earlier collaboration between the two companies, including the development of a layer countered UAS solution and a joint pursuit of the U.S. Army’s Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle (OMFV) program. Rather than slow, proprietary development pipelines that tie customers to a single vendor, this partnership embraces speed, modularity, and co-development. It’s a model that empowers allies to shape and evolve their own capabilities, while working within a shared NATO-aligned framework.
