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Dutch startup Destinus leads consortium to develop anti-missile defence system for Europe
Dutch startup Destinus has been appointed consortium lead for Bliksem EXO, Europe's first sovereign exo-atmospheric anti-ballistic missile defence programme, alongside Airbus, MBDA, Safran and Thales. Joint engineering begins August 2026 with a planned space test of the kill vehicle in 2027.
This Wire brief sits within Fusion42's coverage of Defense Tech and Space Tech. Wire is Fusion42's founder-focused intelligence feed: each story is connected to the funds and startups it names — every one with a live profile on Raise or Scout — so founders can follow the capital and the momentum behind the headline rather than just the headline itself. Wire analysis is one of the live surfaces Arthur, Fusion42's AI co-founder, reasons over.
The Wire takeaway
You've just become the systems integrator for a €multi-billion European defence infrastructure play, leading Airbus and MBDA. That makes you the chokepoint for every subcontractor selling sensors, guidance, launch systems and battle management into this programme - and every NATO air defence upgrade that follows.
Read the full story at eu-startups.com →
Topics: Defense Tech · Space Tech · missile-defence · defence-procurement · european-sovereignty · startup-scale · nato-interop