*

Anduril and Rheinmetall to develop Barracuda and Fury

drones for

Europe

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Partnership aims to enhance European military capabilities

with

US technology

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Importance of drones highlighted by Ukraine war, focus on

rapid

production and deployment

By Joe Brock

PARIS, June 18 (Reuters) - U.S. drone-maker Anduril and

German defence giant Rheinmetall said on Wednesday

they will partner to build aerial drones for European markets,

in a sign of Europe leveraging American technology to boost

military capabilities.

The companies will jointly-develop European variants of

Anduril's Barracuda and Fury aerial drones, as well as exploring

opportunities to build solid rocket motors, which are used to

propel missiles and rockets.

"By integrating Anduril's solutions into Rheinmetall's

European production setup and digital sovereignty framework,

we're building on that foundation to bring new kinds of

autonomous capabilities into service, ones that are quick to

produce, modular, and aligned with NATO's evolving

requirements," said Armin Papperger, CEO of Rheinmetall.

In the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and amid

concerns over U.S. defence commitments under President Donald

Trump, many European nations have pledged to increase military

spending.

However, Europe continues to depend heavily on U.S. defence

firms to fill critical capability gaps - not only in traditional

systems like fighter jets and missiles, but also in emerging

technologies such as artificial intelligence, low-Earth orbit

satellites and drones.

California-based Anduril is part of a wave of U.S. defence

technology companies - including AI firm Palantir and Elon

Musk's SpaceX - that are challenging traditional defence

manufacturing giants with faster innovation.

The war in Ukraine has shown the increasing importance of

drones in modern warfare. The Barracuda is designed to be cheap,

fast to build and easy to launch in large numbers and can act

like a cruise missile. Fury is a more expensive, stealthier,

longer-range drone designed for combat and surveillance.

"This is a different model of defense collaboration, one

built on shared production, operational relevance, and mutual

respect for sovereignty," said Brian Schimpf, CEO of Anduril

Industries.

"Together with Rheinmetall, we're building systems that can

be produced quickly, deployed widely, and adapted as NATO

missions evolve."