Germany plans to award a contract for kamikaze drones to defence start-ups Helsing and Stark as it seeks to boost defences against Russia by supplying the German brigade in Lithuania as well as fuel competition in the defence sector, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday.
The two German start-ups and the country’s largest contractor Rheinmetall will receive a share of the contract, worth close to €300 million each, three people familiar with the matter told FT.
Under the agreement, the three companies will agree to provide up to 12,000 drones, according to one of the people familiar with the discussions, although only part of that number will be delivered up front.
They are expected to be supplied to a new German brigade stationed in Lithuania, with the aim of defending NATO's eastern flank against Russia.
Formal agreements have yet to be signed, but if the contracts are approved by the German parliament’s budget committee, they are likely to be the biggest deals won by the two young start-ups, according to FT.
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