STARK

STARK was established in 2024 by a group of German technologists and entrepreneurs, including Florian Seibel, Uwe Horstmann, and Johannes Schaback.^[4] The company was formed to address urgent operational demands highlighted by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.^[5]

In early 2025, STARK launched its flagship products, the OWE-V Virtus loitering munition and the Minerva mission control suite.^[6] By mid-2025, the company opened a new production facility in Munich,^[7] and later that year the German Federal Ministry of Defence reportedly placed an order for extended testing and trials of the OWE-V Virtus with the Bundeswehr.^[6][8]

In July 2025, the company announced it would open a 40,000 sq ft factory in Swindon, UK.^[9] The following month, the company raised $62 million in a new funding round led by Sequoia Capital, valuing the company at $500 million.^[10][11]

In 2025, STARK reportedly carried out a coordinated recce-strike mission in Ukraine using their reconnaissance and precision strike platforms.^[12]

In the same year, the company was reported to have secured a €300 million contract with the German Bundeswehr for the delivery of loitering munitions and supporting systems.^[13]

In October 2025, Financial Times reported that Stark had conducted trials with the British and German militaries in which none of its four Virtus attack-drone strike attempts hit their targets. In Germany, one drone lost control and crashed into a forest, while in Kenya another drone's battery ignited after impact. STARK argued that such crashes are part of its testing process, claiming that it had crashed drones "a hundred times" during development.^[14]

In November 2025, it was announced that Germany planned to award STARK, Helsing and Rheinmetall contracts worth up to €900 million (each company will receive approximately €300 million) for 12,000 kamikaze drones in total.^[15] The Bundeswehr decided for drones from Helsing and STARK in April 2025.^[16]

STARK’s core product is the OWE-V Virtus, an electrically powered VTOL loitering munition capable of cruising at 120 km/h, diving at up to 250 km/h, carrying a 5 kg warhead, and operating for 60 minutes. It can be launched from static or mobile platforms without additional infrastructure, and within six months of its introduction was deployed in Ukraine against a range of ground and strategic targets.^[17][18]

The company’s Minerva software suite enables precision-strike coordination in GNSS-denied or data-link-degraded environments, integrates with existing battle management systems, and orchestrates temporally and spatially synchronized strike swarms.

STARK’s maritime systems include the Vanta-4 and Vanta-6 unmanned surface vessels, designed for reconnaissance and strike missions in open-water environments.^[19]

In addition, STARK offers a line of custom UAVs and USVs for reconnaissance, surveillance, and precision engagements, along with proprietary command-and-control interfaces and datalinks.^[18][20]