Rheinmetall has signed a framework contract with the Bundeswehr for the supply of its FV-014 loitering munition, the Düsseldorf-based group announced on April 22, 2026. The agreement, signed in Koblenz, carries a total ceiling in the billions of euros, with a first call-off worth approximately €300 million gross to be booked in April 2026.
The initial tranche covers around 2,500 FV-014 strike drones, according to reporting in the German defense press, with the framework reserving options for a five-figure number of additional systems. Deliveries are scheduled to begin in the first half of 2027, after qualification activities starting in the second quarter of 2026. Rheinmetall said the system is developed and manufactured entirely within the European Union.
Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger said in a statement that the company had “developed an autonomous drone that combines reconnaissance and strike capabilities” in a short period, adding that industrial-scale production would begin in the near term.
The German Budget Committee approved the framework agreement on April 15, 2026, with reporting in the German trade press placing the full ceiling at approximately €2.4 billion.
FV-014 specifications
The FV-014, unofficially referred to as the Raider, is a 20 kg-class electrically propelled loitering munition with a 4-kilogram warhead, as specified in Rheinmetall’s announcement. It has an operational range of up to 100 kilometers (62 miles), a datalink range of around 60 kilometers (37 miles), and a flight endurance of 70 minutes. The system is designed to operate in GNSS-denied environments and, according to the manufacturer, supports both single-ship and swarm engagement profiles.
The FV-014 is launched from a container using a booster and transitions to aerodynamic flight after unfolding its wings. The operator remains in the loop throughout the mission, with the option to identify targets, approach them, execute a strike, or abort. Rheinmetall demonstrated the system to a NATO customer at the DLR unmanned systems test center in Cochstedt, Saxony-Anhalt, on February 18, 2026.
A third framework in a crowded German field
The FV-014 agreement is the third medium-range loitering munition framework contract signed by the Bundeswehr in 2026. The Budget Committee had previously approved framework deals on February 25, 2026, with Helsing for the HX-2 and with STARK for the Virtus (also known as OWE-V), each with initial call-offs in the €270 million range. All three contracts follow the same structure, combining a firm initial order with optional call-offs subject to successful qualification and parliamentary review of pricing and performance evidence.
The systems are expected to equip Panzerbrigade 45, the German armored brigade stationed in Lithuania, from 2027 onwards. The brigade is Berlin’s first permanent combat formation deployed abroad since the Cold War and is central to Germany’s contribution to NATO’s forward defense on the alliance’s eastern flank.
The FV-014 contract adds to a fast-growing uncrewed systems portfolio at Rheinmetall, which on April 13, 2026, announced a joint venture with Netherlands-based Destinus to produce cruise missiles and ballistic rocket artillery at Unterlüß in Lower Saxony. The group is also part of competing offers for Germany’s accelerated collaborative combat aircraft program, having partnered with Boeing Australia on the MQ-28 Ghost Bat and, earlier, with Anduril Industries on a European version of the YFQ-44 Fury.
