> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://sovereigntymonitor.eu/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# Germany approves EUR 540 million drone contracts for Helsing and Stark Defence
- URL: https://sovereigntymonitor.eu/news/2026-02-25-germany-helsing-stark-loitering-munition-contracts/
- Published: 2026-02-25T12:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-01T10:51:04.000Z
- Description: Germany's Bundestag budget committee approved an initial EUR 540 million framework (EUR 269 million each) for Helsing's HX-2 and Stark Defence's Virtus loitering munitions, capped at EUR 1 billion per firm, to equip the 45th Brigade in Lithuania.
- Author: Reidar Balstad
- Tags: Defence and space, #news, #reported

Reported [STARK Defence press release, 26 February 2026](https://stark-defence.com/en/news/stark-to-deliver-virtus-to-the-bundeswehr?ref=sovereigntymonitor.eu)

**What it does not test.** Does not confirm any drones have been delivered, nor that the EUR 1 billion per-firm ceiling will be reached without further parliamentary approval.

**How this item counts.** No movement: no answer to who owns, who operates, whose law governs or who made the parts changes. Weight 0\. Germany orders existing German-made loitering munitions; already-sovereign supply chain. [European Sovereignty Index](https://sovereigntymonitor.eu/sovereignty-index/)