ARX Robotics, the German defence tech startup and owner of Europe’s largest unmanned military robotics production facility, today announces its expansion into the UK with new headquarters in London and future production facilities in south-west England, marking a key step in leading European defence into the next era. Backed by investments from the NATO Innovation Fund (NIF) and leading venture capital firms such as Project A, ARX is at the head of a new wave of pan-European defence-tech startups driving innovation and sovereignty. With its autonomous unmanned systems, also known as ground drones, already deployed with German armed forces, on NATO missions along the Eastern flank and widely in Ukraine, ARX is now accelerating the digitalisation of the British Army, fostering European defence sovereignty, and strengthening UK-EU collaboration.
ARX will invest £45 million in a new production and R&D facility in south-west England. Based on its growth in Germany and Ukraine, the company expects to create 90 high-skilled jobs within the next 30 months. The facility will have a production capacity of 1800 vehicles per year. ARX Robotics has already established partnerships with UK defence suppliers, building a predominantly British supply chain that integrates technology from some of the country’s most advanced SMEs, supporting further jobs. The equipment is designed to be multi modular and can be used for purposes including reconnaissance, casualty evacuation and lethality.
ARX Chief Executive Officer, Marc Wietfeld, said: “By setting up a production facility in the United Kingdom, with a predominantly British supply chain, we are not only supporting the UK economy but also contributing meaningfully to the long-term technological sovereignty of both the UK and Europe in an increasingly volatile and fast-moving world. The United Kingdom is a cornerstone of European defence capabilities and remains one of the European Union’s closest partners. Building on our operations in Germany and Ukraine, this is about strengthening European resilience, through technological sovereignty, scalable autonomy, and the modernization of land forces.”
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ARX is driving defence-tech innovation and I warmly welcome their £45 million investment into the UK which will create highly skilled jobs and support European security. “With our commitment to spend 2.5% GDP on defence in 2027, this government is determined to make the UK a defence industrial superpower - supporting good jobs and driving growth as part of the Plan for Change.
UK Secretary of State for Defence, John Healey
The company’s autonomous unmanned systems are already undergoing field tests with the British Armed Forces to tailor them to UK-specific operational requirements, as well as innovating for the next generation of equipment, in line with stated British military aims to triple UK fighting power using technology such as drones and AI. ARX will also provide comprehensive training, maintenance, and technical support tailored to British military requirements.
ARX Robotics systems also use AI to transform existing military hardware such as armoured personnel carriers into remotely controlled autonomous vehicles. As a pioneer in defence digitalisation, ARX’s Core platform and Mithra operating system provide enhanced connectivity, situational awareness and modular deployment for next-generation military fleets.
The UK team will be comprised of military veterans and renowned defence and defence tech specialists including David Roberts who will become Chief Executive Officer of ARX UK and Nick Bowler as Head of UK Mission Operations at ARX UK.
ARX Robotics’ investment in the UK underscores its commitment to fostering UK-EU collaboration, reinforcing the importance of defence cooperation for European stability post- Brexit. This move explicitly aligns with UK Government policy on defence innovation and enhanced SME involvement.
Beyond this, ARX is dedicated to a long-term investment in the UK, with plans to expand its R&D capabilities and further develop advanced autonomous systems tailored to the needs of British forces. This expansion comes amid growing demand for off-the-shelf solutions and an urgent push to digitalise and modernise armed forces, driven by fiscal constraints and defence modernisation goals.
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It is a privilege to lead ARX’s expansion in the UK. ARX’s operationally proven autonomous vehicles deliver an immediate capability boost for the UK Armed Forces, while simultaneously providing a multi-modular integration platform in partnership with British companies working with sensor, effector and enabler technologies. Enabled by the Mithra operating system, ARX will accelerate the delivery of capabilities to front-line units by providing scalable autonomy across both ARX unmanned systems and existing platforms.
ARX UK CEO David Roberts
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We are proud to be backing ARX Robotics, one of Europe’s most impressive autonomous systems companies. Their uncrewed ground vehicles can play a vital role in future ground conflict and we are pleased to see NATO nations recognise the shift from crewed to uncrewed platforms on land. It is particularly reassuring to see ARX’s willingness to invest in building manufacturing capacity across Europe, creating more resilient supply chains and improving NATO’s ability to scale production. We will continue to work closely with ARX to support their business growth strategy over the coming years.
John Ridge, Chief Adoption Officer at the NATO Innovation Fund
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