With Ukraine showing the need for drones and AI, a new breed of defense company hopes to cash in on Europe’s $865 billion drive to counter Russia without America’s help

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When a $400 drone can destroy a multi-million-dollar tank, defense departments need to radically rethink their procurement.

Smaller players are arguing the primes are too lumbering and bureaucratic, and that the moment for newer, nimbler companies has arrived.“The big primes are supertankers,” said Florian Seibel, co-founder and co-CEO of the decade-old German drone-maker Quantum Systems, which has so far raised €170 million from investors such as Airbus Ventures, Volkswagen Group parent Porsche SE, Peter Thiel, and Deutsche Telekom’s venture capital arm DTCP.

According to Seibel, European defense departments are starting to realize that there are huge cost and capability gaps between drones and the alternatives they can replace.

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Article Details

Author / Journalist: David Meyer

Category: EconomyBusiness

Markets: United StatesUkraine

Topics: Lockheed Martin Defense Contractors Europe A.I. Vladimir Putin Defense Drones Leonardo Military drones Rheinmetall Donald Trump

Source Website Secure: Yes (HTTPS)

News Sentiment: Positive

Fact Checked: Legitimate

Article Type: News Report

Published On: 2025-03-24 @ 09:43:54 (2 days ago)

News Timezone: GMT +8:00

News Source URL: fortune.com

Language: English

Article Length: 2306 words

Reading Time: 13 minutes read

Sentences: 4 lines

Sentence Length: 577 words per sentence (average)

Platforms: Desktop Web, Mobile Web, iOS App, Android App

Copyright Owner: © Fortune

News ID: 27273120

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