The German Ministry of Defense has confirmed that on April 4 it signed two contracts to acquire loitering munitions for their own forces for the first time. The acquisition will enable long term testing and trials with a view towards eventual operational integration.
Although the companies involved have not been publicly confirmed, reporting based on well-informed sources in Germany suggest the contracts have been awarded to German start-ups Helsing and STARK. These companies produce the HX-2 and OWE-V systems respectively, both loitering munitions with a range of up to 100km.
