Loitering munition: Stark appoints Uwe Horstmann as new CEO

Uwe Horstmann takes over as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at Stark, the German loitering munition manufacturer announced. The new company head played a key role in founding Stark and growing it; he has gained almost two decades of experience in building start-ups, along with broad know-how in defence and security.

As the company states in a current press release, Horstmann's task is now to lead Stark into a new growth phase. The plan is to expand production capacity, to add above all longer-range systems to the product portfolio and to strengthen long-term cooperation with partners from abroad.

“I have built and supported many companies across Europe, but none is as extraordinary as Stark,” says Uwe Horstmann about his new role as CEO. “No other team combines so much speed, talent and determination to protect Europe. For me, it is clear: this is the right team, the right mission and the right moment.”

Virtus loitering munition, Vanta boats and Minerva

Since Stark was founded in 2024, the company has successfully deployed its Virtus loitering munition in Ukraine – including within the complex combined network of reconnaissance and strike, the reconnaissance-strike network (Aufklärungs- und Wirkverbund, AWV). At “Repmus”, a NATO exercise, Stark also presented the unmanned boats of its Vanta system family. All systems are controlled via Minerva: the manufacturer's AI-supported mission management system makes it possible to deploy unmanned systems on land, at sea and in the air in a coordinated manner.

“The security situation makes clear that now is the time to act. Europe needs its own industrial strength to provide unmanned systems quickly, cost-efficiently and in large numbers. That is exactly our task,” adds Horstmann.

To bring a fully certified European loitering munition to market by 2027, Stark invested in new warhead systems at the beginning of the year. The company also recently announced that it will build a further production facility in Swindon.