Europe has a simple air-defence problem right now: threats are becoming cheaper and easier to produce, while interceptor missiles remain expensive, slow to build, and available in limited numbers.
That mismatch creates a bottleneck. Even when budgets increase, stockpiles do not rebuild fast enough. Frankenburg Technologies says it is building for exactly that problem.
Taavi Madiberk, Founder and Chairman of Frankenburg Technologies, says, “For too long, Europe outsourced strength. That must end. I founded Frankenburg because Europe needs a SpaceX-style shift in defence missiles: build fast, move faster, and win on cost and performance. We are sharply focused on counter-drone missiles today, but this is only the first step. Long-term, we are building a global missile leader, delivering lower costs and aiming for higher performance than US or Chinese incumbents across all key missile categories.”
The Tallinn-based defence startup is designing affordable, mass-produced missile systems so countries can restock quickly rather than wait months or years.
The company announced it has raised €30 million in a Series A round, led by Plural and followed by SmartCap. The deal is subject to regulatory approval. The company says this brings its total funding to €40 million.
From concept to testing in 13 months
Frankenburg was founded in 2024 by deep-tech entrepreneurs Taavi Madiberk (Chairman) and Marko Virkebau (Board Member). It is led by CEO Kusti Salm, previously the Permanent Secretary of Estonia’s Ministry of Defence.
Kusti Salm, CEO of Frankenburg Technologies, said, “Europe’s deterrence problem is not just about budgets, it’s about availability. You cannot do without systems that are too scarce, too slow to replace, or too expensive to use at scale. Frankenburg was built to restore speed, scale and sustainability to missile defence. This funding allows us to put real industrial capacity behind that mission and build missile systems Europe can actually afford to fire and produce at scale.”
The team includes defence leaders and missile engineers with experience across programmes such as IRIS-T, SPEAR3, Storm Shadow, and Brimstone.
The company’s first product is the Mark I, a short-range air-defence interceptor. The company says it moved Mark I from concept to advanced testing and industrialisation in 13 months, partly by keeping requirements constrained so the design can be produced faster and at scale.
A key part of the plan is containerised, modular manufacturing, meant to make production easier to replicate across sites and “localise” output closer to where systems are needed.
The company now operates across eight European countries: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Germany, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Poland, and Ukraine. It says local entities and teams are already in place, with work spanning engineering, industrialisation, and industrial collaborations across land, air, and maritime domains.
The model is built around manufacturing, where systems are used: keeping supply chains short, creating skilled industrial jobs, and ensuring that defence spending strengthens national economies rather than exporting dependence.
Sten Tamkivi, Partner at Plural, said: “In a world where an adversary can deploy tens of thousands of autonomous attack drones, staying safe is not rocket science: defence must be cheap, fast and count in millions of units available. Frankenburg is tackling one of Europe’s most urgent defence challenges by building credible deterrence with missiles, at startup speed. The team combines deep defence expertise with a fundamentally different manufacturing mindset, and we believe this approach can have a lasting impact on Europe’s security and industrial resilience.”
Where will the €30M go?
The new funding aims to establish missile production capabilities in Europe, focusing on building a resilient and efficient manufacturing infrastructure.
Key objectives include setting up two large-scale production sites within the EU that can produce 100 missiles per day each and are equipped for rapid scaling. The plan also involves securing essential components and early production stock to ensure reliability during crises.
Additionally, the initiative will create dedicated facilities for rocket motors and warheads within the EU to maintain control over crucial technologies. The expansion of Frankenburg Missile hubs in the UK and Germany will support the development of next-generation missiles and enhance collaboration between sites.
Lastly, there will be a push to strengthen teams in engineering, safety, quality, and export controls to ensure that systems are ready for production and deployment for European and allied nations.
Frankenburg says these investments are aimed at distributed, multi-site production, so output can be sustained across multiple locations even under prolonged stress.
