What Germany is building in defence tech (2026)
Apr 30
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Bremen, GermanyPeenemünde, GermanyBremen, GermanyPeenemünde, Germany
P
Polaris Spaceplanes
Builds fully reusable horizontal take-off spaceplanes and hypersonic vehicles for both commercial satellite launch and Bundeswehr-contracted defence applications, powered by in-house aerospike rocket engines.
Founded 201951-200 employeesBremen, Germany0 open positionsWebsiteLinkedIn
Space & SatellitesAdvanced Materials
Products & Solutions
Light Spaceplane Aurora
Aurora is the flagship two-stage reusable spaceplane designed to deliver up to 1,000 kg to low Earth orbit or 10,000 kg on suborbital and hypersonic trajectories, launching and landing from standard airport runways without dedicated launch infrastructure. The vehicle targets a two-to-three times reduction in cost per kilogram compared to expendable rockets through near-total system reusability and mission turnaround of under 24 hours. It is designed to serve satellite operators, defence and hypersonic research customers and eventually crewed applications.
Hypersonic Platform VEGA (HYTEV)
VEGA is a two-stage fully reusable hypersonic vehicle contracted by BAAINBw under the Hypersonic Test and Experimentation Vehicle (HYTEV) programme, with the contract awarded in January 2026 following design work conducted under a prior BAAINBw contract in 2024 and 2025. Roughly the size and mass of a fighter jet, the main stage combines two turbofan engines for horizontal take-off and landing with one aerospike rocket engine to accelerate the vehicle before upper-stage release at hypersonic speed. A variant with an expendable upper stage can also deploy small satellites to orbit. First flight is scheduled for late 2027.
Tanker and Aerial Refueling Systems
POLARIS is developing uncrewed tanker variants and aerial refueling capabilities for its spaceplane fleet, enabling in-flight transfer of kerosene and liquid oxygen to extend range and orbital-insertion flexibility. The ORCA demonstrator, a 7-metre vehicle, is currently in assembly to validate the system. This technology also underpins AirLAS, developed jointly with Diehl Defence, which integrates the IRIS-T air-to-air missile onto an unmanned POLARIS carrier vehicle for mobile air-defence and multi-domain applications.
Tactical Aircraft
POLARIS is applying its spaceplane technology base to derive tactical aircraft capabilities for defence customers. Detailed specifications are not yet publicly disclosed, but the programme draws on the same horizontal take-off, aerospike-engine platform used across the company's civil and dual-use vehicles.
Future Heavy Spaceplane
The Heavy Spaceplane is a larger-class successor to Aurora in early-concept phase, designed for high-volume orbital missions from standard airports with full reusability across hundreds of missions and payload capacity exceeding that of the Aurora family.
Aerospike Engines
POLARIS develops linear aerospike rocket engines entirely in-house, integrating them into the flat flying-wing airframe shared across its vehicle family. Aerospike engines maintain efficiency across a wide altitude range, offering an advantage over conventional bell-nozzle designs. As of October 2024 the company had completed 49 hot-fire tests and achieved the first recorded in-flight ignition of a linear aerospike engine, during the MIRA II demonstrator campaign over the Baltic Sea.
Videos
POLARIS Raumflugzeuge Update – Test Flights at the Baltic Sea
Unveiling Polaris: The Hypersonic Spaceplane Aurora
About
Founded in 2019 and based in Bremen, Germany, Polaris Raumflugzeuge GmbH (trading as POLARIS Spaceplanes) is developing a family of fully reusable spaceplanes that take off from standard runways, fly to orbit or hypersonic speeds, and return to land like conventional aircraft. The company designs and manufactures all core propulsion in-house, including linear aerospike rocket engines optimised for the flat flying-wing airframe shared across its vehicle family.
Offices
Bremen, GermanyPeenemünde, GermanyBacked by
Capnamic VenturesSpacewalk VCDienes HoldingE2MC VenturesAero Challenge GroupMBB (Mittelständische Beteiligungsgesellschaft Bremen)
Customers & Partners
German Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support (BAAINBw)Diehl Defence (AirLAS cooperative development, IRIS-T integration)
Timeline
2026-01
Awarded BAAINBw contract to build and flight-test the HYTEV reusable hypersonic vehicle (VEGA platform), targeting first flight by end of 2027.
2025-07
Signed an exclusive cooperation agreement with Diehl Defence at the Paris Air Show to jointly develop AirLAS, an airborne system integrating the IRIS-T air-to-air missile onto an unmanned POLARIS carrier platform.
2025-06
Closed an oversubscribed €5.3 million top-up seed round led by Capnamic Ventures and Spacewalk VC, bringing total private funding to €12.4 million.
2025-01
Opened a second company site at Peenemünde Airport in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern to support rocket-powered flight test operations.
2024-10
MIRA II demonstrator achieved the first in-flight ignition of a linear aerospike rocket engine in Europe, flying from Peenemünde Airport over the Baltic Sea.
2024-09
Total private funding reached €7.1 million following an investment from Dienes Holding, whose owner Klaus Dienes joined the POLARIS advisory board.
2024-03
Secured a multi-million-euro investment from Swiss-based Aero Challenge Group, alongside a memorandum of understanding for long-term strategic partnership.
2019
Founded in Bremen by Dr Alexander Kopp, a former DLR systems engineer, to develop reusable horizontal take-off spaceplanes.
Open Positions (0)
No positions available
Polaris Spaceplanes doesn't have any open positions at the moment.
P
Polaris Spaceplanes
Builds fully reusable horizontal take-off spaceplanes and hypersonic vehicles for both commercial satellite launch and Bundeswehr-contracted defence applications, powered by in-house aerospike rocket engines.
Founded 201951-200 employeesBremen, Germany0 open positionsWebsiteLinkedIn
Space & SatellitesAdvanced Materials
Products & Solutions
Light Spaceplane Aurora
Aurora is the flagship two-stage reusable spaceplane designed to deliver up to 1,000 kg to low Earth orbit or 10,000 kg on suborbital and hypersonic trajectories, launching and landing from standard airport runways without dedicated launch infrastructure. The vehicle targets a two-to-three times reduction in cost per kilogram compared to expendable rockets through near-total system reusability and mission turnaround of under 24 hours. It is designed to serve satellite operators, defence and hypersonic research customers and eventually crewed applications.
Hypersonic Platform VEGA (HYTEV)
VEGA is a two-stage fully reusable hypersonic vehicle contracted by BAAINBw under the Hypersonic Test and Experimentation Vehicle (HYTEV) programme, with the contract awarded in January 2026 following design work conducted under a prior BAAINBw contract in 2024 and 2025. Roughly the size and mass of a fighter jet, the main stage combines two turbofan engines for horizontal take-off and landing with one aerospike rocket engine to accelerate the vehicle before upper-stage release at hypersonic speed. A variant with an expendable upper stage can also deploy small satellites to orbit. First flight is scheduled for late 2027.
Tanker and Aerial Refueling Systems
POLARIS is developing uncrewed tanker variants and aerial refueling capabilities for its spaceplane fleet, enabling in-flight transfer of kerosene and liquid oxygen to extend range and orbital-insertion flexibility. The ORCA demonstrator, a 7-metre vehicle, is currently in assembly to validate the system. This technology also underpins AirLAS, developed jointly with Diehl Defence, which integrates the IRIS-T air-to-air missile onto an unmanned POLARIS carrier vehicle for mobile air-defence and multi-domain applications.
Tactical Aircraft
POLARIS is applying its spaceplane technology base to derive tactical aircraft capabilities for defence customers. Detailed specifications are not yet publicly disclosed, but the programme draws on the same horizontal take-off, aerospike-engine platform used across the company's civil and dual-use vehicles.
Future Heavy Spaceplane
The Heavy Spaceplane is a larger-class successor to Aurora in early-concept phase, designed for high-volume orbital missions from standard airports with full reusability across hundreds of missions and payload capacity exceeding that of the Aurora family.
Aerospike Engines
POLARIS develops linear aerospike rocket engines entirely in-house, integrating them into the flat flying-wing airframe shared across its vehicle family. Aerospike engines maintain efficiency across a wide altitude range, offering an advantage over conventional bell-nozzle designs. As of October 2024 the company had completed 49 hot-fire tests and achieved the first recorded in-flight ignition of a linear aerospike engine, during the MIRA II demonstrator campaign over the Baltic Sea.
Videos
POLARIS Raumflugzeuge Update – Test Flights at the Baltic Sea
Unveiling Polaris: The Hypersonic Spaceplane Aurora
Open Positions (0)
No positions available
Polaris Spaceplanes doesn't have any open positions at the moment.
About
Founded in 2019 and based in Bremen, Germany, Polaris Raumflugzeuge GmbH (trading as POLARIS Spaceplanes) is developing a family of fully reusable spaceplanes that take off from standard runways, fly to orbit or hypersonic speeds, and return to land like conventional aircraft. The company designs and manufactures all core propulsion in-house, including linear aerospike rocket engines optimised for the flat flying-wing airframe shared across its vehicle family.
Offices
Bremen, GermanyPeenemünde, GermanyBacked by
Capnamic VenturesSpacewalk VCDienes HoldingE2MC VenturesAero Challenge GroupMBB (Mittelständische Beteiligungsgesellschaft Bremen)
Customers & Partners
German Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support (BAAINBw)Diehl Defence (AirLAS cooperative development, IRIS-T integration)
Timeline
2026-01
Awarded BAAINBw contract to build and flight-test the HYTEV reusable hypersonic vehicle (VEGA platform), targeting first flight by end of 2027.
2025-07
Signed an exclusive cooperation agreement with Diehl Defence at the Paris Air Show to jointly develop AirLAS, an airborne system integrating the IRIS-T air-to-air missile onto an unmanned POLARIS carrier platform.
2025-06
Closed an oversubscribed €5.3 million top-up seed round led by Capnamic Ventures and Spacewalk VC, bringing total private funding to €12.4 million.
2025-01
Opened a second company site at Peenemünde Airport in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern to support rocket-powered flight test operations.
2024-10
MIRA II demonstrator achieved the first in-flight ignition of a linear aerospike rocket engine in Europe, flying from Peenemünde Airport over the Baltic Sea.
2024-09
Total private funding reached €7.1 million following an investment from Dienes Holding, whose owner Klaus Dienes joined the POLARIS advisory board.
2024-03
Secured a multi-million-euro investment from Swiss-based Aero Challenge Group, alongside a memorandum of understanding for long-term strategic partnership.
2019
Founded in Bremen by Dr Alexander Kopp, a former DLR systems engineer, to develop reusable horizontal take-off spaceplanes.
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