Germany Deploys 12,000 Drones To The Border With Russia
- 29.10.2025, 12:52
Berlin is arming a brigade in Lithuania with attack drones to protect NATO's eastern flank.
German authorities intend to allocate 900 million euros to three defense companies for the supply of 12,000 combat drones to be used by a German brigade in Lithuania. All three companies are cooperating with the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
The contracts, worth 300 million euros each, are to go to two startups and German defense industry heavyweight Rheinmetall, Europe's largest arms manufacturer, after being approved by the Bundestag budget committee, three people familiar with the situation told Financial Times. Rheinmetall, which is partnering with US drone maker Anduril and Israeli company UVision, only unveiled its first combat drone in September. Whereas startups Helsing and Stark specialize in drone technology.
Helsing is the largest startup in the European defense sector, valued at €12 billion based on investments raised, including from Spotify founder Daniel Ek. Over the past year, the company has, among other things, announced plans to supply Ukraine with 6,000 attack drones and acquired German aircraft manufacturer Grob Aircraft. Stark's investors include venture capital fund Sequoia Capital and billionaire venture capitalist Peter Thiel, co-founder of PayPal and Palantir. Stark has a team in Ukraine that develops and tests drone technology.
The drones to be supplied by the three manufacturers are expected to be sent to Lithuania, where Germany deployed troops near Russia's borders in the spring of 2025 for the first time since World War II. The Bundeswehr's armored brigade, which is expected to have 5,000 soldiers by 2027, is permanently stationed in Lithuania.
The need to provide NATO's eastern flank with drones capable of both repelling Russian provocations and carrying out strikes has become particularly apparent in recent months. Russian drone infiltration has been recorded in Poland and Romania, and unidentified drones have also repeatedly appeared in Germany, Denmark, Norway, and Belgium.
German authorities are allocating record defense spending to, as Chancellor Friedrich Merz said in May, create "the strongest conventional army in Europe."