Estonian missile defence startup Frankenburg Technologies raises €30M

An Estonian defence startup building what it says are “affordable, mass manufacturable” missile defence systems has secured €30 million in Series A funding, marking a pivotal moment in Europe’s push to strengthen its air-defence capabilities. Frankenburg Technologies, founded in 2024 and led by CEO Kusti Salm, the former permanent secretary of Estonia’s defence ministry, is positioning itself at the forefront of a new era in missile defence—one that prioritises speed, cost-efficiency, and scalability over traditional performance metrics.

The startup, which proudly touts its sovereign credentials, was established in direct response to a seismic shift in Europe’s security landscape. Modern aerial threats, it argues, can now be produced cheaply and at scale, while traditional missile manufacturing has long prioritised performance over speed, cost, and regeneration. This imbalance has left Europe vulnerable, particularly in the wake of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine four years ago, which exposed critical gaps in the continent’s air-defence infrastructure.

Frankenburg’s solution? Affordable missile systems designed for mass production. By addressing Europe’s air-defence bottleneck, the company aims to provide a sustainable, scalable alternative to the expensive, slow-to-produce systems that have dominated the market. The €30 million funding round, led by Plural—the Estonian fund founded by Wise’s Taavet Hinrikus—and joined by SmartCap, will be used to build sovereign missile-manufacturing capacity in Europe. The focus will be on production, resilience, and regeneration, ensuring that Europe can not only defend itself but also replenish its defences quickly and affordably.

According to the Financial Times, one of Frankenburg’s top priorities is to establish two EU-based “mass production sites” capable of manufacturing more than 100 missiles per day per site. This ambitious goal underscores the company’s commitment to scaling up production to meet the demands of a rapidly evolving security environment.

Kusti Salm, Frankenburg’s CEO, emphasised the urgency of the mission. “Europe’s deterrence problem is not just about budgets, it’s about availability,” he said. “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.”

With this latest funding round, Frankenburg has now raised a total of €40 million, cementing its position as a key player in Europe’s defence innovation ecosystem. The company’s approach—combining affordability, scalability, and sovereignty—could redefine how the continent approaches missile defence, offering a blueprint for other nations grappling with similar challenges.

As Europe faces an increasingly complex security landscape, Frankenburg’s mission is clear: to ensure that missile defence is not just a luxury for the few, but a practical, accessible solution for the many. With its cutting-edge technology and ambitious production goals, the startup is poised to play a critical role in safeguarding Europe’s future.

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