Feb 25, 2026, 4:43 p.mFeb 25, 2026, 4:43 p.m
The German parliament’s budget committee has given the green light to the purchase of kamikaze drones for the Bundeswehr.
The budget politicians in the Bundestag approved plans from the Ministry of Defense, which wants to order weapons systems from the German manufacturers Helsing and Stark Defense initially worth around 540 million euros, as the German Press Agency (dpa) learned in Berlin.
At the same time, the Budget Committee capped purchases at one billion euros each and imposed reporting obligations on the ministry. For this purpose, a so-called decisive resolution was passed. He also calls for renewed parliamentary approval as a prerequisite for being able to call up further quantities from the contracts.
Defense Minister Boris Pistorius spoke of an “important step” with regard to the kamikaze drones. The Bundeswehr also learns from the experiences of the Ukrainians and benefits from arms cooperation. At the same time, he said after a meeting of the Defense Committee: “As much as it is true that drones dominate the current war that Russia is waging against Ukraine, it is also true that no one knows whether that would still be the case in five years.”
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius speaks of an “important step”.Image: keystone
“Lithuania Brigade” should receive the weapon systems first
The unmanned aircraft systems equipped with warheads – technically called “loitering ammunition” – are now central to a large proportion of the effective hits in the Ukraine war.
The German military, which long seemed left behind when it came to using drones as a weapon due to previous political decisions, wants to open a new chapter on the battlefield with the weapons. The “Lithuania Brigade” on NATO’s eastern flank will be the first to receive the new weapon systems.
According to the ministry’s plans, a total of up to 4.4 billion euros will be spent on kamikaze drones in the coming years. Several thousand units are now being ordered in the first tranche. In total, a five-digit number of kamikaze drones will be procured. The arms company Rheinmetall is in the starting blocks as a third possible provider.
The new systems have been tested
“Loitering munitions” are drones with a warhead that can circle over a target area for a long time until a target is assigned to them via a data link and the attack command is given. You then fly to the destination.
The Bundeswehr has already tested these weapon systems and has also given the manufacturers their own specifications, so that the Bundeswehr receives different versions than the Ukrainian armed forces. The drones from the two manufacturers are no longer considered combat proven, but must undergo extensive German tests and pass the practical test in the troops.
Army Inspector Christian Freuding wants to set up six units over the next few years for the use of the newly introduced kamikaze drones. He wants to have the first medium-range battery ready for use by 2027; five more by 2029, the lieutenant general said in November. A battery is the size of a company of 60 to 150 soldiers.
There are concerns about an investor
Before the budget committee meeting, the opposition Greens in particular had expressed strong reservations about the US investor Peter Thiel, who was involved in Stark Defense, and called for clarification about his possible influence. The Green Party defense budget member Sebastian Schäfer criticizes that the government has not yet had its own information about who owns a company that is now to be awarded a billion-dollar contract for drones.
Tech billionaire Peter Thiel is known as a supporter of US President Donald Trump’s MAGA movement and for his right-wing libertarian views. “I no longer believe that freedom and democracy are compatible,” he wrote in 2009.
Tech billionaire Peter Thiel.Image: keystone
Thiel was born in Germany in 1967, but grew up in South Africa and the USA. He is a co-founder of Paypal – together with Elon Musk, among others – as well as the software company Palantir and was one of the first external Facebook investors. The files on sex offender Jeffrey Epstein published by the US Congress also contain written correspondence between Thiel and Epstein – but this does not amount to an indication of misconduct.
Manufacturer rejects criticism from the Greens
When asked, Stark Defense said that Thiel had “no influence on the operational business.” The investor also does not have a blocking minority. In addition, in the case of foreign investments in German defense companies, a mandatory preliminary examination by the Ministry of Economics is necessary if the figure exceeds ten percent. The same applies if there are special rights below this threshold, for example in the appointment of committees or other atypical opportunities for influence. “None of that is the case here,” said a spokeswoman.
Pistorius addressed the debate on the sidelines of the meetings. If there are concerns “about the quality of Thiel’s participation in the company, then we have to investigate it,” he said. “But it turns out that’s not the case.” Thiel is concerned with a single-digit percentage stake without access or insight into operational matters.
Last year, the possible use of Palantir’s analysis software was also controversially discussed by security authorities in Germany – among other things because of concerns about data security. As a start-up, Palantir received money from the US secret service CIA and is one of its customers. In the two most populous German states, North Rhine-Westphalia and Bavaria, the police already use Palantir’s Gotham surveillance software. (hkl/sda/dpa)