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Europe’s airspace security has become a critical issue. Large-scale aerial threats, from low-cost unmanned systems to more complex cruise-missile-like targets, have become a persistent feature of Europe’s security landscape. While such threats can be produced quickly and in large numbers, interceptors are often expensive, slow to manufacture and available only in limited quantities. Frankenburg Technologies is developing affordable missile systems designed for rapid, high-volume production, so that intercepting targets does not cost many times more than the attack itself.

Kusti Salm, CEO of Frankenburg Technologies said that Europe’s deterrence problem is not just about budgets, it’s about availability. “You cannot deter with 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 capital raised will be used to stand up missile production across multiple sites, including establishing two EU-based mass-production units. In addition, the company will secure long-lead components and early production stock, establish rocket motor and warhead production capability within the EU, and expand engineering, safety, quality and export-control teams.

Minister of Economic Affairs and Industry Erkki Keldo said the investment in Frankenburg Technologies confirms that it is possible to build critical capabilities locally in Estonia for both Estonia’s national defence and for Europe as a whole. “Estonian companies have a place in shaping the future of Europe’s defence industry. It is also important that the company plans to establish production capacity in Estonia at the Pärnu defence industry park, which will help bring more high-tech jobs and know-how here. Frankenburg is a good example of how the state can support industrial development both by creating the necessary infrastructure and through targeted investments,” the minister commented.

Frankenburg’s Mark I is described as the world’s first short-range air-defence missile designed from the outset for mass production and built entirely from commercially available components used in electronics and other industries. The company took Mark I from concept to successful testing in 13 months—many times faster than typical development cycles that often take more than a decade.

Sten Tamkivi, Partner at Plural added that 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.”

SmartCap CEO Sille Pettai said Frankenburg is a standout defence technology company and team at a European scale, shifting the defence industry’s established innovation and development cycles—and the operating logic of manufacturing capacity—to a new level. “This investment enables the establishment of unique missile-technology competence in Estonia, which in turn enriches the wider defence and technology ecosystem here. At the same time, it is an innovative air-defence solution that addresses one of today’s biggest security challenges, such as low-cost attack drones.”