Estonian robotics firm Milrem Robotics and aerospace producer Frankenburg Technologies have teamed up to mount affordable guided interceptor missiles on unmanned ground platforms, aiming to cut counter-drone intercept costs tenfold.
Estonian DefenceTech ecosystem is evolving towards cooperation between its individual winners. This week in Paris,Milrem Robotics and Frankenburg Technologies have signed a Memorandum of Understanding at Eurosatory 2026 to develop unmanned mobile counter-drone missile defence capability, combining robotic ground platforms with affordable guided interceptors.
What Milrem and Frankenburg envision for the future
The partnership centres on integrating Frankenburg’s Mark I missile – a compact, precision-guided interceptor built for scalable industrial production using commercially available components – onto Milrem’s unmanned ground vehicles. The companies say the combination would cut short-range intercept costs by more than ten times compared to conventional air defence systems.
The goal is a new category of distributed short-range air defence: systems that can autonomously reposition, engage aerial threats rapidly, and maintain coverage at a fraction of the cost of legacy solutions – designed to protect critical infrastructure and military installations against large-scale drone attacks.
“The era of scarce air defence is ending,” said Kusti Salm, CEO of Frankenburg Technologies. “Together with Milrem Robotics, we are putting affordable guided missiles on robotic combat platforms, enabling mobile short-range air defence at a scale and cost that was previously economically impossible.”
The MoU also establishes a framework for joint trials and demonstrations, industrial cooperation including potential localisation of production, and joint marketing to defence customers. A combined system demonstration is planned within roughly twelve months.
“Unmanned and distributed systems are becoming increasingly important in modern defence,” said Kuldar Väärsi, CEO of Milrem Robotics. “Frankenburg’s approach aligns well with our vision of modular, scalable and mission-adaptable unmanned solutions.”
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