Germany’s military is in talks with Covenant over the startup’s Anthem cruise missile, the Defense Ministry said Friday, opening a potential new path for expanding Berlin’s long-range strike arsenal. The discussions involve a U.S.-Israeli, venture-capital-backed company that was founded in 2024 and remained in stealth mode for two years before announcing its plans this week. Defense News
The ministry provided no details on the status of the negotiations or how the Anthem might fit into Bundeswehr planning. Germany has so far placed Lockheed Martin’s Typhon launchers at the center of its envisioned ground-based strike architecture. Those launchers can fire several types of munitions, including Tomahawk cruise missiles with ranges exceeding 1,500 kilometers, but the ministry has not said whether Anthem would operate within that structure or alongside it.
Covenant’s missile is also reportedly ground-launched, although the company did not provide details of the launch system. The company says Anthem is production-ready and undergoing weekly flight tests. It is pitching the weapon as a lower-cost alternative to established systems, with executives previously citing a mid-six-figure target price per missile during serial production. A current-generation Taurus cruise missile costs $1 million or more, according to the report.
The prospective deal comes as Germany’s long-range strike options face several timing and supply constraints. A new version of the air-launched Taurus is still years from entering service, while planned U.S. deliveries of Tomahawks face uncertainty after heavy use in the American-Israeli war against Iran. A separate European effort known as ELSA remains at an early development stage. Those factors could make a production-ready system attractive if it meets German requirements, though the ministry has not disclosed any procurement decision.
Covenant is preparing a German industrial presence in the Leipzig area of Saxony. The company is leasing an existing building in an industrial neighborhood on the city’s north side, near Leipzig-Halle Airport, but has not released more specific information about the site. The company’s main facility is in Grand Prairie, Texas, and it also has a plant in Israel. It employs about 200 people and was advertising 29 positions, including seven in Germany, at the time of the report.
Serial production in Germany is scheduled to begin in the first quarter of 2027, according to a Berlin lobbying firm handling Covenant’s local media inquiries. The firm said global customers could receive Anthems as early as 2026, while German-built missiles would follow in 2027. The company has not identified potential European customers, and it has not explained where propellant and warhead integration would occur for missiles produced in Europe.
Local reporting cited by Defense News said the Leipzig facility would not handle explosives and could therefore operate under rules for a metalworking plant rather than a munitions factory. Covenant declined to provide further details on that arrangement. The distinction leaves important parts of the production chain unresolved, including whether final integration would take place in Germany or elsewhere.
The planned facility is also entering a politically sensitive environment. The far-right Alternative for Germany is the strongest political force in Saxony and has criticized the project through local and regional branches. The party opposes support for Ukraine and maintains close ties with Russia, while also supporting a stronger military and defense industry when Russian interests are not affected. The company’s next concrete steps are the planned German hiring and site preparation, followed by the proposed start of local serial production in 2027.