The Armed Forces of Ukraine are expected to receive the first Bars cruise missile-drones from a newly established production facility in Germany in just a few weeks’ time. This was revealed in an interview published today between RBC-Ukraine and the unnamed Ukrainian manufacturer of the weapons system.
The yet-to-be-publicised company is said to have already set up a joint venture in Europe, which is due to begin production of the Bars shortly. According to the current schedule, the first batch is due to be delivered to the Armed Forces of Ukraine starting on the 10th of October.
Whilst Germany is not explicitly mentioned as the location for the joint venture, publicly available information strongly suggests that the mentioned production would take place in Germany.
This follows a German-Ukrainian agreement signed by Germany’s Minister of Defence, Boris Pistorius, and the Ukrainian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Andrii Sybiha, on the sidelines of the recent NATO summit in Ankara on the 8th of July 2026.
Nothing is known about any other production facilities that have been established in other European countries, so it must be assumed that today’s announcement refers to the production facility in Germany that is already known.
What is the Bars?
The Bars is a hybrid of a cruise missile and a drone, whose development began in 2023 in the midst of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.
According to the Ukrainian manufacturer, who has chosen to remain anonymous for security reasons, the latest version of the cruise missile-drone hybrid has a range of up to 1,000 kilometres, is equipped with a 60-kilogram warhead and can reach speeds of up to 700 kilometres per hour.
There are at least three variants of the Bars, each characterised, amongst other things, by a different ratio between warhead mass and amount of fuel, which can be selected and deployed by the Armed Forces of Ukraine depending on the specific operational scenario.
Given its now vastly increased range and comparatively high flight speed, despite carrying a 60-kilogram warhead, the Bars is becoming an increasingly attractive option for Ukrainian attacks on military targets, for example within internationally recognised Russian territory.
A look back at the past
This is also why, according to research by WELT, there were already plans in 2025 to fund the production of the Bars in Ukraine as part of the military aid package worth about €5 billion announced in May 2025.
However, it is not publicly known whether the relevant contracts were ultimately signed and funded, although that, of course, does not necessarily mean much these days. Other weapon systems mentioned in the course of the research were evidently funded.
Ukraine is now taking the next step and, with financial backing from the German government, is setting up production in Germany.
Taking into account other German-Ukrainian joint ventures that are already established, the broad division of labour is likely to be as follows: the German defence partner provides the industrial infrastructure and production processes, whilst the Ukrainian company supplies the licensed designs for production and is responsible for training the staff.
However, it is not known exactly how the joint venture is structured, what quantities are to be produced there for Ukraine in future, or how much funding the German government is providing for the project each year.
As already mentioned, from day one there has been the utmost secrecy surrounding the manufacturer and its products, such as the Bars. It seems clear, however, that having production based abroad not only guarantees a comparatively very secure production and regular deliveries to Ukraine, but also significantly increases the quantities reaching the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
So, this is bad news for defence contractors and other high-value military targets within Russia and the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, which may soon receive an unwelcome visit from a German-made cruise missile-drone hybrid.
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