Stark Defence plans to begin delivering its Virtus loitering munition system to the Bundeswehr soon, with the first batch set for the German brigade stationed in Lithuania. The Berlin-based drone maker outlined the timetable at the Euro Defence Expo in Essen, where senior vice-president Josef Kranawetvogl confirmed the initial handover is due to start shortly.
The package is valued at 275 million euros within a broader framework contract worth 2.9 billion euros, while 1 billion euros has already cleared the Bundestag. The exact size of the first tranche was not disclosed. Stark’s system is designed to remain airborne for up to 75 minutes and fly as far as 130 kilometres. If no target is identified, it is intended to crash in an unpopulated area.
The delivery forms part of Germany’s wider push to field loitering munitions more quickly after lessons drawn from the war in Ukraine. The first systems are expected to support the Bundeswehr’s forward-deployed brigade in Lithuania, adding an early operational element to a procurement programme that could scale substantially over the coming years.