During the Munich Security Conference, German defense startup Stark announced the opening of its own Research And Development Center in Ukraine. It is announced that it has an area of 2,000 square meters, where it will be possible to accommodate more than 200 specialists.
The task of this center will be research and development, system integration and training, which will allow to accelerate the transition from the development stage to serial production. In addition, Stark plans to build its own production facilities in Ukraine. This is reported by Defence Network.
Read more: Virtus Drone by Stark: AI, Autonomy, and Swarm Capability Born from Ukraine’s War Lessons (Updated)
Stark plans to integrate regional supply chains. All this should strengthen and increase industrial resilience. The presence of production facilities and its own R&D Center in Ukraine will allow the company to adapt its products to the ever-changing conditions of modern warfare much faster.
It has not yet been announced which products will be produced at the new production facilities in Ukraine in the future. However, Stark does not have such a large product line, which is represented by the Virtus loitering munition, as well as the Vanta product line of unmanned surface vessels (USVs).
Despite the fact that Virtus was first introduced just in September 2025, it is already used on the front by the Ukrainian military. It has a maximum range of over 100 km, a cruising speed of 120 km/h, and a maximum speed of 250 km/h.
The maximum take-off weight of Virtus is about 30 kg, of which 5 kg is for the modular payload, which is represented by several options for defeating different targets. This loitering munition has AI integrated on board, thanks to which it can independently detect and identify targets.
Below is a video of the use of the Virtus loitering munition in Ukraine:
The duration of the Virtus flight is up to 1.5 hours, the flight altitude is up to 2 km. The Virtus launch is carried out vertically without any launch devices, from any open area. It is likely that the main focus of the new Stark enterprises in Ukraine will be on the loitering munition.
As for the unmanned boat Vanta, it was also first introduced only in September 2025, and exists in two versions: Vanta 6 and Vanta 4 (the number in the name reflects the length - 6 and 4 meters, respectively.
The following characteristics are declared for Vanta 6: range of up to 910 nautical miles (1,685 km), speed of over 45 knots (83 km/h), modular payload of up to 200 kg. For the smaller Vanta 4, the following are declared: range - 780 nautical miles (1,444 km), speed is not named, but probably the same or higher, but the payload will be correspondingly smaller.
In addition to opening the R&D Center in Ukraine, Stark also created its branch in Greece, and even earlier – in the UK and Sweden. In general, the German startup Stark is developing very quickly, as it was founded just in 2024, and after two years it has its own branches and production in many European countries.
It is worth recalling that just a few days ago, Stark received a contract for its Virtus loitering munitions from an unnamed NATO country. Interestingly, the contract was signed in early February, and by the end of February the first batches of drones should begin to arrive to the customer.
Read more: German Stark Secures Contract with NATO Country for Virtus Drones Tested in Ukraine
