American-Israeli defense startup Covenant is setting up mass production of its Anthem land-based long-range cruise missile at a new facility in Eastern Germany.
The company told Bloomberg that the missile can carry a payload weighing over 200 kilograms and has an operational range exceeding 2,000 kilometers.
The new manufacturing plant spans approximately 10,000 square meters near Leipzig Airport. Covenant President Abby Denburg told the news agency that Germany possessed an exceptionally strong industrial base, noting that while the nation's automotive sector was undergoing structural transformation, decades of manufacturing expertise had created the exact skills the startup required.
Leipzig, a major city in the eastern German state of Saxony, hosts a commercial airport that serves as a central European freight and logistics hub. Germany's automotive industry, long considered the backbone of European industrial production, has faced major structural shifts as manufacturers adapt to global market changes and electric vehicle production.
High Volume Production at Lower Costs
Reuters reported that the missile presentation posed a fresh challenge to major defense contractors in the United States. Covenant co-founder and chief executive officer Michael Kaufman told Reuters that comparable weapons from traditional defense contractors were produced in small quantities at extremely high costs, adding that Covenant intended to change that model.
Covenant expects the price of a single Anthem missile to drop to a few hundred thousand dollars once full-scale serial production is established. The startup has already secured about $150 million in orders and expects to start receiving revenue in 2027.
Company officials stated that the Anthem missile was designed specifically for potential operational use in the Pacific region. Denburg stated that the company built the weapon for a potential war with China.
The Pacific region has become a key focal point for global defense strategies, where deterrence relies heavily on long-range precision strikes across vast oceanic distances. Traditional land-based cruise missiles provide military forces with standoff strike capabilities against fixed and mobile targets without risking aircraft.
Global Manufacturing Footprint
On September 9, Covenant opened a 9,754-square-meter facility in Dallas, Texas. The company expects the Dallas site to reach a full production rate of 5,000 missiles per year, matching the anticipated capacity of the new German plant, while a smaller site in northern Israel will produce 2,000 missiles annually.
Dallas is a prominent defense manufacturing hub in the southern United States, home to major aerospace facilities and specialized engineering talent. Israel, where Covenant operates its smaller production facility, is internationally recognized for its advanced defense tech sector and missile engineering capabilities.
Covenant was founded in 2024 and has raised approximately $250 million in investment capital.
US Munition Deficits and Industry Shift
The launch of mass production comes amid reports of dwindling weapon stockpiles in the United States. In early August, Reuters reported that the U.S. had used nearly all of its inventory of long-range ATACMS and PrSM missiles during the war with Iran. CNN reported that the U.S. had also exhausted nearly 80 percent of its THAAD missiles and half of its Patriot interceptors.
The Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) and the Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) are surface-to-surface ballistic systems relied upon by ground forces for long-distance strike operations. THAAD and Patriot systems form the core of U.S. layered air and missile defense networks designed to intercept incoming ballistic missiles and aircraft.
The Washington Post reported on a conflict between U.S. President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over an acute deficit of precision-guided munitions. However, President Trump publicly denied reports that the American military faced any ammunition shortages.
In a related development within Germany's defense sector, carmaker Volkswagen is selling its factory in Osnabrueck. The facility will be converted into a defense solutions center in partnership with Israeli defense firm Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, the manufacturer of the Iron Dome air defense system.
Rafael Advanced Defense Systems is an Israeli state-owned defense technology contractor best known for developing Iron Dome, a mobile air defense system designed to intercept short-range rockets and artillery shells.
