Rheinmetall and Anduril Industries have announced a strategic partnership to jointly develop and deliver a comprehensive suite of autonomous systems. The collaboration begins with the development of three proven capabilities and is set to expand over time with next-generation technologies.

The initial phase includes:

• The integration of a European variant of Anduril´s Barracuda—part of the company’s family of low-cost, mass-producible autonomous air vehicles—into Rheinmetall’s digital framework (Battlesuite).

• The incorporation of a European variant of Anduril’s Fury, a high-performance, multi-mission Group 5 autonomous air vehicle (AAV), into Rheinmetall’s digital sovereignty ecosystem (Battlesuite).
• The exploration of solid rocket motor opportunities for European use, leveraging Anduril’s innovative production approaches.

These systems will be jointly developed and manufactured by both companies, involving suppliers and industrial partners across Europe.

This partnership represents a long-term, shared investment aimed at co-developing rapidly deployable systems tailored to the diverse operational requirements of regional European markets. It embodies a “built with, not for” philosophy—emphasising European sovereignty, local control, transparency, and adaptability over dependency and vendor lock-in.

The integration of Barracuda and Barracuda-M into Rheinmetall´s systems will equip European armed forces with affordable autonomous air vehicles engineered for large-scale production. Their modular architecture allows for a broad range of payloads and targeting modes, making them highly adaptable to mission-specific needs.

The inclusion of Fury—an autonomous aircraft designed for collaborative operations with manned platforms—into Rheinmetall’s product ecosystem offers each nation the ability to configure command-and-control systems and mission parameters independently. Fury delivers next-generation fighter performance, combined with the flexibility to accommodate a wide array of sensors and payloads.

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The Solid Rocket Motor initiative aims to enhance European access to reliable propulsion solutions, ensuring industrial resilience and scalable delivery capacity—particularly critical where domestic supply chains are still emerging.

The partnership builds on previous collaboration between the two companies, including the co-development of a layer countered-UAS solution and their  joint participation in the U.S. Army’s Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle (OMFV) programme. 

In contrast to traditional, proprietary development models that limit flexibility, this alliance embraces speed, modularity, and co-development. It presents a model that empowers allied nations to shape and evolve their own defence capabilities—while operating within a NATO-aligned, interoperable framework.

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