Berlin drone start-up Stark drew scrutiny after its Virtus loitering munition failed in back-to-back live-fire trials observed by British and German evaluators, reported the Financial Times.
During the multi-day Haraka Storm exercise at a British Army base in Kenya, Virtus missed both strike attempts; one aircraft ignited on impact after a battery malfunction, the paper added. “It was not an either or,” said a western official familiar with the exercise, according to the Financial Times, yet insiders told Handelsblatt the company left the range early because the tests went poorly.
Helsing and ARX Robotics, two fellow German start-ups that joined the Kenyan event, completed their demonstrations. ARX chief executive Marc Wietfeld confirmed that his firm “successfully tested” its integrated system with Helsing, the Financial Times wrote, while two people cited by the outlet said Helsing registered 17 hits.
Only days earlier, Virtus had failed twice during a Bundeswehr evaluation in Germany. Three people who watched that trial told the Financial Times a drone veered off course, its battery caught fire and the wreckage fell into a wooded area, leading one observer to call the outing “a disaster for Stark.” Helsing’s HX-2 achieved five hits in the same German session, and ARX used its Mithra kit to guide those strikes, the newspaper said.
The poor showings contrasted with Stark’s public messaging. “We’re getting feedback that Virtus is among the absolute top performers,” said chief executive Uwe Horstmann during an interview with NTV, cited by the Financial Times. Horstmann, also a partner at investor Project A, told the paper the firm could build thousands of drones from January 2026.
Stark was provisionally selected as one of three winners of a Bundeswehr competition for autonomous armed drones worth about €300 million apiece, but the deal depends on further trials and parliamentary approval, the Financial Times noted.
The company defended its process in a written statement. “We did not crash once or twice, we have crashed a hundred times. That is how we test, develop, and ultimately continue to deliver defense technology like Virtus to the front lines in Ukraine,” Stark wrote, according to the Financial Times.
Investors have remained confident. Backers include Peter Thiel’s investment firm, Sequoia Capital and the NATO Innovation Fund, the Financial Times reported. One unnamed investor told the outlet that “testing and experimenting” were “necessary parts of building and innovating at the frontier.”
European demand for drones continues to expand. Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said Germany would allocate €10 billion to unmanned systems in coming years, though some officials warned of a possible sector bubble.
A senior Bundeswehr officer unaffiliated with the trials told the Financial Times that soldiers appreciate start-ups because they “adapt to our wishes” faster than larger contractors. Critics, however, noted Stark’s strict control at demonstrations; two people said the company allowed only two of its four drones to be risked and refused to let soldiers fly them, instead handing out a challenge coin showing the Stark logo over a map of Europe that omitted the British Isles.
Stark plans to open a factory in Swindon, United Kingdom, in November. The firm’s website stated that Virtus can track and engage targets up to 100 km away, cruise at 120 km/h and dive at 250 km/h. Whether those claims secure contracts now hinges on persuading skeptical soldiers that the drone can actually hit its target.
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