State-Controlled KNDS Unveils Drone Container and Super-Howitzer as €20bn IPO Nears

A containerised drone launcher that can rain loitering munitions on enemy forces while simultaneously shooting down hostile UAVs is among the seven systems KNDS has brought to the Eurosatory defence fair in Paris. The modular weapon, built inside a standard 20-foot ISO container, blurs the line between offence and air defence in a single deployable unit. It combines Helsing HX-2 loitering munitions for attack with Tytan TI-1 METIS interceptor drones for protection, all orchestrated via Helsing’s Altra software and AI-driven thermal detection. The container packs its own power, cooling and network link, and can hold anywhere from dozens to over a hundred small effectors.

The military logic is straightforward: the launcher and its operators can be separated by distance, and the drones themselves can be spread across multiple locations, making it far harder for an enemy to pinpoint and destroy the firing platform.

That same Eurosatory stage is where KNDS management will hold a press event on Thursday, and investors are expecting concrete details on the group’s long-anticipated initial public offering. The Franco-German defence contractor is preparing a dual listing in Paris and Frankfurt, with a valuation now pegged at €18bn to €20bn — down from earlier ambitions of as much as €25bn as the market for defence stocks cools. The IPO is pencilled in for June or July, with September as a fallback.

What makes the listing unusual is the ownership structure. Germany and France will each take a 40% stake at the outset. Berlin, under Chancellor Friedrich Merz, is buying its block for several billion euros at exactly the offer price, with no premium, in a move designed to safeguard sensitive technology. France already holds its slice through GIAT Industries. The founding Wegmann family is selling its entire holding in the float, leaving roughly 25% of shares in free float. Both governments plan to step back over time, reducing to 30% apiece within two to three years. KNDS supervisory board chairman Tom Enders has called for a much more pronounced withdrawal by the states over the longer term.

Ahead of the debut, KNDS is tidying up its balance sheet. It placed a block of shares in gearbox specialist Renk with institutional investors, netting around €262m, and now retains only about a 10% stake in the company, subject to a 180-day lock-up from the end of May.

Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying KNDS?

On the product side, KNDS is pushing technical boundaries. The LORAS howitzer pairs the firing module of the RCH 155 with a French 155mm/58-calibre barrel on a Boxer tracked chassis — a longer tube than any current NATO-series artillery piece. Standard NATO rounds already used by CAESAR, PzH 2000 and RCH 155 (all 52-calibre) will push LORAS to 60 kilometres; precision and specialist ammunition could stretch that to between 80 and 100 kilometres. The crew is just two. A prototype has already fired, and series production is slated for 2032 to 2035.

The CAPINT demonstrator offers a glimpse of France’s next-generation armoured combat system. Built on an evolved Leopard 2 A8 chassis, it carries an unmanned ASCALON turret from KNDS France with an autoloader and remote control. The 1,500-horsepower vehicle includes counter-drone capabilities, an open digital architecture and connectivity with unmanned ground vehicles. The ASCALON system has fired around 300 rounds so far, and in January 2026 a dynamic firing campaign from a MBT demonstrator with a remote turret took place in Portugal. First production vehicles are expected in the 2030s.

The financial firepower behind all this is substantial. KNDS ended 2025 with an order backlog of €33.1bn, up almost €10bn in a year. Revenue climbed to €4.4bn, and operating profit reached €661m. The backlog alone represents more than seven times annual sales, guaranteeing production for years.

With the Eurosatory display providing a powerful backdrop, KNDS is positioning itself as both a supplier of mature unmanned warfare systems and a test case for state-anchored defence listings. Whether the market will embrace a company where two governments hold 80% of the shares remains the big unknown.