Armed with new drones, Rheinmetall eyes loitering munitions market

LONDON — Germany’s Rheinmetall plans to expand its strike drone business, unveiling a new family of systems at the DSEI trade show that could initially swell to 1,000 units produced this year.

Company CEO Armin Papperger told reporters here that unmanned aerial vehicles is one of the portfolios the company aims to push in the coming years.

“Small drones are a good business. They are not a game changer, but we also want to develop them to have unmanned technologies that we can implement,” Papperger said.

During the briefing, the executive demonstrated the FV-014, a loitering munition fitted with a high-explosive, dual-purpose (HEDP) warhead and enabled to operate in GPS-denied conditions.

The drone has a range of around 100 km. It’s part of a family of drones the manufacturer describes as the “Fabulous Five” that use common propulsion and navigation systems.

Company representatives say that while this year’s drone output is expected to comprise around 1,000 UAVs, Rheinmetall is currently in talks with various potential clients that could boost its UAV business in the coming years beyond €120 million ($141 million) annually.

“We have observed a growing demand for loitering munition in Europe. The FV-014 is our answer to this need. This 15kg-class drone will be produced in Germany, with a potential output of between 500 and 1,000 drones per month,” Christian Rucker, the business development manager for UxS, product and airborne solutions at Rheinmetall, told Defense News. “We expect that production will begin in 2026.”

Meanwhile, Rheinmetall is also advancing its cooperation with U.S. defense-technology company Anduril Industries to jointly offer the Barracuda range of autonomous air vehicles to potential European customers.

“Under this partnership, Rheinmetall negotiates, sells and ensures after-sales support to clients in Europe, and Anduril produces the Barracuda, which is a very affordable long-range system suitable for mass production,” Rucker said. “In the future, it is also possible that Rheinmetall could manufacture this product in Germany.”

Jaroslaw Adamowski is the Poland correspondent for Defense News.

伦敦——德国莱茵金属公司计划扩大其攻击无人机业务，在DSEI防务展上推出了一系列新型系统，预计今年初期产量将达到1000台。

公司首席执行官阿明·帕佩格尔在此向记者表示，无人机是公司未来几年计划重点发展的业务领域之一。

“小型无人机是一项不错的生意。它们虽然不会改变游戏规则，但我们也希望发展它们，以便我们能够应用无人技术，”帕珀格说。

在简报会上，这位高管展示了 FV-014，这是一种配备高爆双用途 (HEDP) 弹头的巡飞弹，能够在 GPS 信号被干扰的条件下运行。

这款无人机的飞行距离约为100公里。它是制造商所称的“神奇五侠”系列无人机中的一款，该系列无人机使用通用的推进和导航系统。

公司代表表示，虽然今年的无人机产量预计将达到 1000 架左右，但莱茵金属公司目前正在与多家潜在客户洽谈，这些客户有望在未来几年将其无人机业务的年收入提升至 1.2 亿欧元（1.41 亿美元）以上。

“我们注意到欧洲对巡飞弹的需求日益增长。FV-014正是我们为满足这一需求而推出的产品。这款15公斤级无人机将在德国生产，月产量预计在500至1000架之间，”莱茵金属公司无人作战系统、产品和机载解决方案业务发展经理克里斯蒂安·鲁克尔告诉《防务新闻》。“我们预计将于2026年开始生产。”

与此同时，莱茵金属公司也在推进与美国国防技术公司安杜里尔工业公司的合作，共同向潜在的欧洲客户提供梭鱼系列自主飞行器。

“根据这项合作协议，莱茵金属公司负责与欧洲客户洽谈、销售产品并提供售后支持，而安杜里尔公司则负责生产梭鱼雷达系统。梭鱼雷达系统价格实惠，适合大规模生产。未来，莱茵金属公司也有可能在德国生产这款产品。”鲁克尔说道。

Jaroslaw Adamowski 是《防务新闻》驻波兰记者。