On Wednesday, 26 November 2025, the German group Rheinmetall AG announced that it had received an order worth over 100 million EUR (described as being in the “low three-digit million-euro range”) from an undisclosed NATO member state for the licensed supply of Hero loitering munitions from the Israeli company UVision Air. The order volume includes several hundred units (Rheinmetall AG accelerates production of drones and loitering munitions).
Photo: Rheinmetall AG
Deliveries will begin in the first quarter of 2026 and are scheduled to be completed by the end of next year. The munitions will be produced by the new facilities of RWM Italia S.p.A. at its sites in Musei (inert and electronic components) and Domusnovas (warheads) in Sardinia, Italy, with support from its partner UVision Air Ltd, whose production launch took place in mid-year. Cooperation with the Israeli company in this area was announced in October 2021.
The ordered Hero loitering-munition systems will be equipped with the latest-generation, high-performance anti-tank warheads developed by Rheinmetall AG. To date, several NATO customers in Europe and countries outside the Alliance have placed orders, previous reports mentioned eight recipients, with Hungary being the only previously disclosed customer.
The press release does not specify which model or models of Hero loitering munitions are included in the latest order. The RWM Italia S.p.A. facilities in Sardinia manufacture the following models:
- Hero-30 – a small, portable loitering munition for infantry use. It weighs 3 kg, of which 0.5 kg is the warhead. The unmanned aircraft is powered by a quiet electric motor that enables it to reach targets at distances of up to 40 km at speeds of up to 185 km/h (or during 30 minutes of flight). The weapon can be prepared for use within minutes and is launched pneumatically from a containerized launcher. It is controlled using the operator’s Hero OCU control panel (Hero-30 in Israeli service).
- Hero-120 – a medium-size loitering munition for precision strikes against armored vehicles and stationary targets. It is 1.34 m long with a 1.4 m wingspan in a cruciform configuration. It can carry various high-power warheads – anti-concrete, anti-armor, and fragmentation types weighing 4.5 kg. Its electric motor extends its flight time to over 1 hour, giving it a range of up to 50 km, a standard flight altitude of 457 m (1,500 ft), and a cruising speed of 185 km/h (100 kt). The minimum altitude is 365 m (1,200 ft) and the maximum 914 m (3,000 ft). A single munition (including the launch container with its built-in pneumatic launcher) weighs 18.1 kg. It is guided to the target via a three-axis-stabilized electro-optical seeker (Helicopter-launched UVision Hero-120 loitering munition).
- Hero-400 – medium/long-range loitering munition for precision strikes against fortified positions. It is 2.1 m long, has a 2.4 m wingspan, and weighs 40 kg (of which 10 kg is the warhead). It can engage targets at distances of 30–150 km. It reaches an altitude of 5,500 m. Its loitering speed is 93 km/h, and attack speed is 278 km/h. (There is also the Hero-400EC variant, which features folding cruciform wings and an electric motor instead of a combustion engine.)
The Hero loitering-munitions family, including models not produced in Italy, also comprises the tactical Hero-70, operational Hero-250, and strategic Hero-900 and Hero-1250.
Additionally, Rheinmetall’s portfolio includes its own drones and loitering munitions, such as the LUNA NG reconnaissance UAV. Thanks to its unmanned aerial systems, produced among other places in Penzberg, Rheinmetall generated around 120 million EUR in sales in 2024. Rheinmetall also cooperates with other well-known companies in this sector, such as Lockheed Martin, Anduril Industries, and Auterion.
Furthermore, counter-UAS (C-UAS) is another area in which Rheinmetall AG is a leader. Its portfolio covers the full sensor-to-effector chain, from detection and identification to countermeasures using jammers, artillery-based air-defense systems (e.g., Skyranger), or high-energy laser weapons.
#Rheinmetall supplies #NATO customer a significant number of #HERO #LoiteringMunitions – order worth in the three-digit-million Euro range https://t.co/Zr5lWh02Fz #Defence #Military pic.twitter.com/4JoWi7YIGt
— Rheinmetall (@RheinmetallAG) November 26, 2025
