Defense contractors Rheinmetall and Destinus are planning a joint venture to manufacture and market missile systems on a large scale. The joint venture, "Rheinmetall Destinus Strike Systems," is slated for establishment in the second half of 2026, with the German group holding a 51 percent stake and its Dutch partner, Destinus, owning 49 percent, Rheinmetall announced on Monday. The product portfolio will include cruise missiles and ballistic rocket artillery, targeting NATO member states and a broad international market.

Conflicts such as those in Ukraine and the Middle East have demonstrated that militaries no longer require only limited quantities of strike systems. "Instead, there is an increasing demand for thousands of systems per year, potentially reaching tens of thousands over time," Rheinmetall stated. "In the short term, this represents a market opportunity in the hundreds of millions of euros, with long-term potential in the low billions."

"We are combining Rheinmetall's production capacities and expertise in managing large-scale programs with Destinus's specific technology and system design," explained Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger. The joint venture will expand qualification and series production capacities at Rheinmetall's German industrial facilities. "Europe is entering a new phase of scaling up missile production," added Mikhail Kokorich, co-founder and CEO of Destinus.

(Reporting by Jörn Poltz, edited by Sabine Wollrab. For inquiries, please contact our editorial office at berlin.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for politics and economics) or frankfurt.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for companies and markets).)