Romania has taken a notable step toward joining the growing number of European countries pursuing national missile programs, thanks to an initiative by OVES Enterprise — a company primarily focused on digital technologies that has decided to expand into long-range weapons development.
The company states that its cruise missile, named Sahara and launched in 2025, has already reached an advanced stage of development, with initial tests reportedly completed successfully.
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The missile is being developed as an integrated system incorporating Nemesis AI — an artificial intelligence solution designed to rapidly adapt the missile to its assigned flight mission, according to Defense Romania, which obtained the information directly from the developers.
The AI is also tasked with ensuring resilience against satellite navigation jamming. The algorithm reportedly analyzes data from satellites and onboard sensors every 200 milliseconds to detect spoofing attempts and electronic interference. If necessary, it automatically switches to the inertial navigation system.
The missile itself, powered by a miniature turbojet engine producing 310 N of thrust, weighs just 55 kg. Of this, up to 10 kg can be allocated to the warhead or other payload. The stated range is approximately 200 km, enabled by a 20 kg fuel load. The missile is expected to cruise at 0.85 Mach. The company has also announced plans to develop extended-range versions with ranges of 500–600 km and 900–1,100 km.
An official presentation of the Sahara is scheduled for May 2026, with a full-scale capability demonstration planned for late next year. Investment in the project has already reached approximately €1 million, with an additional €2 million earmarked for optimization and testing.
From Defense Express' perspective, Sahara is currently the only publicly known Romanian long-range strike development. Notably, it is being pursued by a non-traditional defense contractor that only recently entered the defense sector.
In terms of its specifications, particularly the 10 kg warhead, Sahara remains far from a full-fledged cruise missile and even from some Ukrainian so-called "missile-drones." Instead, it more closely reflects a trend gaining traction in the United States, where the U.S. Marine Corps selected the Red Wolf cruise missile, which carries up to 10 kg of explosives but offers a range of 370 km.
At present, there is no publicly known broader national missile development program in Romania. If the Romanian Armed Forces need to conduct long-range strikes independently, they currently rely on coastal missile systems armed with NSM anti-ship missiles, which also feature a land-attack capability. Until 2025, Norway's Kongsberg declared a range of 185 km for the NSM, but more recently a figure exceeding 300 km has been announced.
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