Anduril-Rheinmetall Join Forces to Develop Autonomous System for European Market: Berlin, Germany – In a significant strategic development set to reshape Europe’s defence landscape, American technology firm Anduril Industries and German defence giant Rheinmetall have announced a wide-ranging partnership to co-develop and manufacture a suite of software-defined autonomous systems. This collaboration, unveiled today, aims to rapidly extend the availability of cutting-edge autonomous mission capabilities for European defence forces, focusing on speed, modularity, and shared sovereignty.
The alliance signifies a departure from traditional, often sluggish, defence procurement models, embracing a philosophy of agile co-development and rapid production tailored to the evolving needs of NATO and European allies. It’s a move designed to enhance Europe’s defence industrial base, reduce dependency, and foster greater technological autonomy.
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Anduri’s Fury.
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A Foundation of Proven Capabilities
The partnership is initially focused on three key areas, with plans to expand into further next-generation technologies over time:
Barracuda Integration: A European variant of Anduril’s Barracuda, a low-cost, mass-producible autonomous air vehicle (AAV), will be integrated into Rheinmetall’s “Battlesuite” – its digital sovereignty framework. This aims to provide European militaries with an affordable and flexible AAV solution, designed for hyperscale production and supporting a wide range of payloads and targeting modes for diverse mission requirements.
Fury’s European Debut: The collaboration will also see the inclusion of a European variant of Anduril’s Fury, a high-performance, multi-mission Group 5 autonomous air vehicle, into Rheinmetall’s digital sovereignty framework. Fury is engineered to operate seamlessly as part of manned-unmanned teaming aircraft, offering advanced fighter performance with the flexibility to integrate various sensors and payloads. Its inclusion within Rheinmetall’s ecosystem will empower individual European nations to configure their own command-and-control systems and operational constraints.
Solid Rocket Motors Exploration: The partnership will delve into opportunities for the production of solid rocket motors for European use. This effort leverages Anduril’s innovative new production approaches and is aimed at ensuring European access to a reliable line of propulsion systems, offering crucial industrial redundancy and the ability to deliver at scale, particularly where domestic sources may currently be insufficient.
These sophisticated systems are slated for joint development and production by both companies, with a strong emphasis on incorporating sovereign suppliers and industrial partners across Europe. This “built with, not for” philosophy prioritizes European sovereignty, local control, transparency, and adaptability, aiming to avoid dependency or technological lock-in.
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A New Model of Defence Collaboration
Speaking on the partnership, Brian Schimpf, CEO of Anduril Industries, articulated the collaborative vision: “This is a different model of defence collaboration, one built on shared production, operational relevance, and mutual respect for sovereignty. Together with Rheinmetall, we’re building systems that can be produced quickly, deployed widely, and adapted as NATO missions evolve.”
Armin Papperger, CEO of Rheinmetall, echoed this sentiment, emphasizing the synergy between the two entities: “Rheinmetall has always stood for reliability, scale, and strategic depth in defence manufacturing. By integrating Anduril’s solutions into Rheinmetall’s European production setup 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.”
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This alliance builds on prior successful collaborations between Anduril and Rheinmetall, including the development of a layered counter-UAS (Unmanned Aerial System) solution and a joint pursuit of the U.S. Army’s Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle (OMFV) program. The partners envision a shared approach to industrial defence that eschews slow, proprietary development pipelines in favour of speed, modularity, and co-development. This model seeks to empower allied nations to shape and evolve their own defence capabilities while operating within a shared, NATO-aligned framework.
The partnership comes at a critical time for European defence, as nations grapple with evolving geopolitical challenges and the urgent need for rapid technological advancements. The alliance between Anduril and Rheinmetall promises to be a significant step towards a more resilient, self-reliant, and technologically advanced European defence posture.
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