Rheinmetall
Germany's largest defence prime; autonomous vehicles, loitering munitions, and NATO land systems.
On 22 April, Rheinmetall secured a €300m call-off for more than 10,000 loitering munitions for Germany's brigade in Lithuania, with deliveries due from the first half of 2027.
Last refreshed: 1 October 2026 · Appears in 3 active topics
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Timeline for Rheinmetall
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Autonomous Systems: Land & Sea: Rheinmetall opens a UK autonomy centreBackground
Rheinmetall is a German defence manufacturer headquartered in Düsseldorf. Founded in 1889, it makes land systems, ammunition, artillery, air-defence equipment and autonomous ground systems. Its recent contracts and partnerships show a company widening its role from conventional defence production into loitering munitions and uncrewed vehicles.
The company’s core relevance rests on its ability to combine industrial manufacturing with systems integration. Its Skymaster command system was used with HENSOLDT’s Twinvis passive radar to direct a Skynex gun battery during a German Air Force exercise on 19 August.
Rheinmetall therefore matters to European rearmament as a prime contractor able to connect vehicles, ammunition, sensors and autonomous systems. Its UK land-autonomy centre, opened on 14 August, focuses on integrating and testing equipment built around the PATH autonomy kit.
Rheinmetall expands drone production
On 22 April, Rheinmetall received a €300m initial call-off for more than 10,000 FV-014 loitering munitions under a wider German framework. The systems are intended for the Bundeswehr brigade in Lithuania, with deliveries scheduled from the first half of 2027.
The order puts Rheinmetall among the Heritage defence manufacturers moving into attritable drone production at scale. Its conversion of a Neuss CAR factory gives the programme an industrial base separate from its established ammunition and vehicle lines.
Rheinmetall moves mine clearance
On 15 June, Rheinmetall joined Croatian robotics firm DOK-ING and Britain's Pearson Engineering to unveil the MV-8 Komodo at Eurosatory in Paris. The uncrewed system is designed to breach minefields, moving a dangerous engineering task away from a crewed vehicle.
For Rheinmetall, the programme extends its land-systems role from supplying platforms and weapons towards integrating autonomous equipment for battlefield engineering. The partnership also ties its future ground-robot work to specialist European suppliers rather than treating autonomy as a wholly in-house product line.
Reference
What is Rheinmetall's FV-014 drone?
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Where is Rheinmetall headquartered?
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