Rheinmetall And Anduril Announce Strategic Partnership To Co-Develop Unmanned Aerial Systems
German defense contractor Rheinmetall and American drone manufacturer Anduril Industries have announced the formation of a strategic partnership to co-develop versions of Anduril’s unmanned systems tailored for the European market.
The companies’ joint announcement during the Paris Air Show states the partnership reflects a “built with, not for” philosophy that prioritizes “European sovereignty, local control, transparency, and adaptability over dependency or lock-in”.
According to the announcement, the partnership will begin with a focus on three products, being an European version of Anduril’s Barracuda cruise missile family that will be integrated into Rheinmetall’s Battlesuite “digital sovereignty framework”, an European version of Anduril’s Fury collaborative combat aircraft that will also be integrated into Battlesuite, as well as the “exploration of opportunities” for the use of Anduril’s solid rocket motor production methods in European munitions manufacturing.
“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.”
In particular, the companies say that the integration of Fury into Rheinmetall’s “ecosystem of products” will allow European customers to configure its own command and control systems and operational constraints for their Furies.
The companies add that joint development and production will see the incorporation of “sovereign suppliers and industrial partners” across Europe, with more products and technologies to be jointly developed over time.
“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.”