European missile manufacturing push gains momentum as Frankenburg closes €30 million funding round

The race for affordable and mass-manufacturable missile systems in Europe has gained momentum as Frankenburg Technologies, a Tallinn-based startup, successfully closed a €30 million Series A funding round. This brings the total funding to €40 million and will support the company’s expansion into a broader, full-spectrum missile portfolio. With a clear focus on production, resilience, and regeneration, Frankenburg aims to build tangible, sovereign missile-manufacturing capacity in Europe.

Founded in 2024 by serial deep-tech entrepreneurs Taavi Madiberk and Marko Virkebau, Frankenburg Technologies is on a mission to restore speed, scale, and sustainability to missile defense in Europe. The company has already gained recognition as one of the 10 Estonian startups to watch in 2026 and beyond.

The €30 million Series A reflects a wider acceleration of defense-focused investment across Europe in 2025 and 2026. Other notable funding rounds in the defense and autonomy segments include Arondite in the UK, Destinus in the Netherlands, Orbotix in Poland, Project Q in Germany, and Quantum Systems in Germany. Together, these rounds amount to over €224 million in disclosed financing, highlighting the growing investor interest in sovereign missile manufacturing capacity and scalable interceptor production in Europe.

Frankenburg Technologies’ CEO, Kusti Salm, who previously served as the Permanent Secretary of Estonia’s Ministry of Defense, emphasizes the importance of availability in Europe’s deterrence problem. He states that Europe cannot deter with systems that are too scarce, too slow to replace, or too expensive to use at scale. With this funding, Frankenburg Technologies aims to put real industrial capacity behind its mission and build missile systems that Europe can actually afford to fire and produce at scale.

The company’s first operational system, the Mark I short-range air-defense missile, has already advanced from concept to advanced testing and industrialization in just 13 months. Designed with constrained requirements to enable speed, scale, and affordability, the Mark I will be produced using Frankenburg’s containerized, modular manufacturing concept. This allows for missile production to be localized close to the point of need.

Key priorities for Frankenburg Technologies include standing up two EU-based mass-production sites, securing long-lead components and early production stock, establishing dedicated rocket motor and warhead production capabilities within the EU, expanding Frankenburg Missile hubs in the UK and Germany, growing engineering, safety, quality, and export-control teams, and operating across eight different countries.

The company’s model is built around manufacturing where systems are used, keeping supply chains short, creating skilled industrial jobs, and ensuring that defense spending strengthens national economies rather than exporting dependence. By combining modular manufacturing, commercially available components, and rapid qualification cycles, Frankenburg Technologies aims to give European nations a credible path to sustained air-defense readiness, even under prolonged stress or wartime conditions.

As the company expands its portfolio beyond counter-UAS and short-range air defense, future programs will include additional air- and surface-launched precision capabilities, all built using the same industrialized, scalable manufacturing model. With an experienced team of senior defense leaders and missile engineers, Frankenburg Technologies is well-equipped to become a global missile leader, delivering lower costs and higher performance than US or Chinese incumbents.

Key Takeaways:

• Frankenburg Technologies, a Tallinn-based missile defense startup, has raised €30 million in Series A funding to build tangible, sovereign missile-manufacturing capacity in Europe.
• The company aims to restore speed, scale, and sustainability to missile defense and has already taken its first operational system from concept to advanced testing and industrialization in just 13 months.
• The funding reflects a wider acceleration of defense-focused investment across Europe and highlights the growing investor interest in sovereign missile manufacturing capacity and scalable interceptor production.
• Frankenburg Technologies’ model is built around manufacturing where systems are used, keeping supply chains short and strengthening national economies.
• The company’s future programs will expand beyond counter-UAS and short-range air defense into additional air- and surface-launched precision capabilities.

Source: European missile manufacturing push gains momentum as Frankenburg closes €30 million funding round