Frankenburg Technologies: Estonia’s rising force in European and NATO defence 

In Estonia, a bold ambition is taking shape – one that could significantly alter the balance of defence capabilities across the continent. Frankenburg Technologies, a defence tech startup headquartered in Estonia, is rapidly becoming one of Europe’s most closely watched players in the evolving security landscape. 

Led by former Estonian Ministry of Defence Permanent Secretary Kusti Salm, Frankenburg is on a mission: to produce air defence missile systems at a fraction of current costs and on an unprecedented scale. “We aim to produce missiles 10 times cheaper and 100 times more than what’s currently possible,” emphasises Salm. And they’re not just dreaming it – they’re building it.

From strategic vision to battlefield necessity

The urgency behind Frankenburg’s mission is driven by brutal real-world experience. Since the start of the full-scale war in Ukraine, the number one request from Kyiv has been clear: air defence. From Iranian-made Shahed drones to loitering munitions, modern conflicts are being transformed by swarms of low-cost aerial threats.

Frankenburg’s core mission responds directly to the lessons learned in Ukraine – there is an urgent need for scalable, agile, and cost-effective air defence. Traditional missile systems – costly, complex, and slow to produce – were never designed to meet this challenge. “There simply aren’t enough missiles to deal with the sheer number of threats,” Salm explains. “It’s not a matter of will. It’s a matter of economics and scale.”

What sets Frankenburg apart is not just its goals, but its philosophy. “We’re not here to ‘support’ or ‘contribute’. We are building the things that will help win a war,” Salm states flatly. Their emphasis is on defeating drone threats that are growing exponentially. “We’re talking about moving from tens of thousands of targets to millions. That’s the scale of growth we’re addressing.”

A team forged in experience

Frankenburg’s leadership reads like a who’s who of Estonian defence. Alongside Salm, Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Veiko-Vello Palm and Gen. (Ret.)  Martin Herem, former Commander of the Estonian Defence Forces, form part of the core team. This brings not only credibility but also intimate, operational-level knowledge of how modern warfare is evolving – and what militaries urgently need.

It’s not just military brass. The company has also attracted global engineering talent, including former executives from leading European defence companies. One standout is Andreas Bappert, who joined Frankenburg after leading the Medium and Long-Range Air Defence Systems division at Diehl Defence in Germany. With over 20 years of experience in missile technology, Bappert brings deep technical expertise and programme leadership from some of Europe’s most advanced weapons development projects.

Another key figure is Andrejs Pukitis, the company’s CTO, known in Baltic aerospace circles as both a prolific rocket builder and a dedicated educator. He has built dozens of rockets, teaches robotics and rocketry at Riga Technical University and the Latvian Academy of Arts, and has been instrumental in making Frankenburg’s missile designs not only effective but scalable and producible under field conditions.

“We’re not here to ‘support’ or ‘contribute’. We are building the things that will help win a war.”
Kusti Salm, CEO of Frankenburg Technologies

Frankenburg also benefits from the experience of Reinis Veips, former CTO at Atlas Aerospace, who now leads engineering operations. With over 15 years of experience building dual-use aviation systems, Veips has been central in translating Frankenburg’s vision into manufacturable hardware. As Salm notes, “We hire from across Europe, but our roots remain deeply Baltic.”

This exceptional team has helped the company attract a number of high-profile backers. Among its notable investors is Taavi Madiberk, CEO of Skeleton Technologies and a member of the European Innovation Council board. He brings a unique perspective at the intersection of deep tech, energy systems, and strategic resilience. The supervisory board also includes Kuldar Väärsi, founder and CEO of Milrem Robotics, Europe’s leading developer of unmanned ground vehicles, and Marko Virkebau, CEO of Stargate Hydrogen, a pioneer in green hydrogen infrastructure.

These investors are more than financiers – they’re strategic allies with hands-on knowledge of scaling frontier technologies in complex geopolitical contexts. Together with the leadership team, they are positioning Frankenburg not just as a startup but as a transformative force in European defence.

The Mark 1: simplicity meets lethality

At the centre of the company’s efforts is the Mark 1: a short-range missile system designed specifically to counter drones and other low-flying targets. It travels near the speed of sound, powered by a rocket motor and guided by smart targeting systems that use affordable, off-the-shelf components.

“The problem is simple: there are too many drones and too few missiles. Current systems are too expensive and slow to build. Our answer is to radically simplify the missile using widely available, off-the-shelf components,” Salm says.

Frankenburg’s rocket does not aim to intercept ballistic missiles or high-altitude threats; its purpose is to neutralise the slow, low-cost threats that are overwhelming modern battlefields.

“Israel and South Korea face existential threats, yet nobody questions investing or travelling there. Why? Because they act. They take responsibility for their defence. We need that same mindset in Europe.”
Kusti Salm, CEO of Frankenburg Technologies

“We’re building against Shahed drones and other low-end threats – not because we can’t go higher, but because this is where the gap is. We don’t need gold-plated missiles to take out inexpensive drones. We need something fast, accurate, and affordable – and scalable,” Salm explains.

Unlike traditional defence firms that guard their technologies as if in vaults, Frankenburg embraces openness and modularity. Their approach is deliberately modular and scalable. By using components similar to those found in smartphones – while strictly avoiding any from adversarial nations – Frankenburg ensures both supply chain resilience and affordability.

Made in the Baltics, ready for Europe

Though technically still a startup, Frankenburg operates with the urgency and focus of a company born in crisis. In just months, its valuation tripled to €150 million, and its manufacturing ambitions grew from thousands to hundreds of thousands – even millions – of missiles per year.

“The threats are real, the timeline is short, and we don’t have the luxury of waiting. If we’re going to stop the next wave of aggression, we need to act now,” Salm says.

This urgency extends to how they think about production. One of the company’s core design principles is “assemble anywhere”. The idea is simple: systems must be easy enough to produce close to the front lines, even by workers with minimal training.

While Estonia remains the heart of the company, Frankenburg sees itself as a European company. “We don’t hide our Estonian roots,” Salm insists. “But we’re here to solve Europe’s security problems.”

The company has legal entities and employees in all three Baltic states. A significant part of its engineering takes place in Riga, Latvia, where the government is fully onboard. “Latvia has shown remarkable vision and willingness to take calculated risks. They’re not just trialling the missiles, they’re committing to them,” Salm says, referencing a large-scale pilot deal with the Latvian Ministry of Defence.

In parallel, Frankenburg is expanding into the UK, establishing its western European headquarters in London and creating more than 50 jobs. This move reflects both strategic alignment with the UK’s defence ambitions and a desire to become embedded within Europe’s wider industrial ecosystem.

“We want to produce close to the customer. That’s part of making it scalable. The assembly process must be so simple that local personnel with basic training can do it.” This is a core part of Frankenburg’s design philosophy: make it cheap, make it simple, make it everywhere.

The bigger picture: a Baltic South Korea?

Frankenburg has ambitious plans for 2025. Among them is the field testing of the Mark 1 system in Ukraine. These trials will provide real-time battlefield data and demonstrate the system’s operational effectiveness in the most demanding conditions. “It’s one thing to show a missile works on paper. It’s another to prove it on a battlefield,” Salm says.

Salm repeatedly emphasises during the interview that “the threats are real, the window is small, and the opportunity to make a difference is now.” For him, seeing the company’s valuation triple within just a few months is not merely about money – it’s about mission. “We’re building something that helps protect free societies. This isn’t just about returns. It’s about responsibility.”

Frankenburg’s story is not just about missiles – it’s about a shift in mindset. For decades, Europe relied on slow procurement cycles and a handful of large contractors. But the nature of war has changed. Speed, scale, and resilience now matter more than ever.

In wrapping up the interview, Salm makes a striking comparison to countries like Israel and South Korea – nations that face existential threats but have built robust, independent defence industries. “Israel and South Korea face existential threats, yet nobody questions investing or travelling there. Why? Because they act. They take responsibility for their defence. We need that same mindset in Europe.”

Frankenburg wants to be a catalyst in that transformation, proving that small countries can lead, that affordability doesn’t mean inferiority, and that technology can be a tool of both security and sovereignty. Frankenburg, then, is not just a startup – it’s a statement. A declaration that small nations can lead big changes, and a reminder that Europe’s future security might just depend on a handful of engineers, veterans, and visionaries working late nights in Tallinn, Riga, and elsewhere.

This content is funded by the European Union – NextGenerationEU 

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