Destinus and Rheinmetall push 2000km strike drone forward

Destinus has announced the accelerated start of the RUTA Block 3 programme, a 2,000 kilometre-class long-range precision strike system being developed in partnership with Rheinmetall, with flight testing planned to begin in 2027, the company stated.

Block 3 extends the RUTA family, which has already moved from battlefield validation into serial industrial production. RUTA Block 1 is in serial production in the Netherlands, while Block 2, developed with support from Ukraine’s Brave1 defence technology initiative, is currently undergoing flight testing in Ukraine and is planned to enter production ramp-up in 2026. Block 3 will extend the architecture into a new long-range category while retaining what Destinus describes as sovereign European design authority, scalable production, and containerised deployment.

The programme is structured across three industrial hubs. Destinus serves as engineering and design authority and primary production site in the Netherlands. Ukraine will contribute to both development and operational testing of Block 3 and will manufacture essential components. In Germany, a planned Rheinmetall Destinus Strike Systems joint venture is expected to add high-rate manufacturing, qualification, and final integration capacity for Bundeswehr and broader European customers, with production at Rheinmetall’s Unterlüß site planned to begin with Block 1 and Block 2 in 2026-2027.

Mikhail Kokorich, CEO of Destinus, described the programme around industrial depth rather than headline capability. “Europe is entering a new defence era where the decisive factor is no longer the existence of precision weapons, but the ability to produce, replenish, and evolve them at an industrial scale during prolonged high-intensity operations. RUTA Block 3 is designed around that reality: sovereign European architecture, distributed industrial production, and the ability to scale rapidly across allied nations. Our objective is not to manufacture symbolic quantities of exquisite missiles, but to help establish a credible European long-range strike capability with real industrial depth.”

Armin Papperger, CEO of Rheinmetall AG, said the joint venture was on track for establishment before the end of the year. “Deep precision strike capabilities, meaning the ability to strike strategically important targets with pinpoint accuracy, even deep within the enemy’s territory, contribute to a credible deterrent and are therefore of great importance in terms of security policy. We are ready to establish the Rheinmetall Destinus Strike Systems joint venture with our partner Destinus before the end of this year and to provide these capabilities to our customers as soon as possible. We are excited to produce and deliver the first missiles from our Unterlüß site before the end of 2026.”

According to the company, Block 3 is intended to be powered by a next-generation Destinus T220 turbojet engine currently in design, and will carry a 250 kilogram-class warhead. The system is designed for long-range missions in contested environments, combining advanced autonomous navigation for GPS-degraded conditions with terminal sensing and guidance capabilities under development. Launch is via a standard ISO containerised architecture supporting land-based, maritime, and fixed-site deployment.

The RUTA family draws on operational lessons from Ukraine, where the conflict has demonstrated both the value of long-range precision strike capability and the importance of industrial scale in sustaining it. European nations have been investing significantly in domestic long-range strike programmes as the continent seeks to reduce its dependence on US-supplied systems.