The German Armed Forces are preparing to develop long-range combat drones capable of striking targets deep in enemy territory, according to a Monday report by the Handelsblatt newspaper.

According to the report, three consortia are currently developing concrete concepts in response to a request from the Luftwaffe air force, which sought proposals for deep-strike drones from leading defense companies and startups.

The report states that Airbus Defence is collaborating with US startup Kratos on the project, while Germany's Rheinmetall has partnered with drone specialist Anduril, and Munich-based startup Helsing is also participating in the initiative.

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The German Defense Ministry acknowledged to Handelsblatt that preparations for such a project were underway, confirming that preliminary discussions had occurred while clarifying that no official tender process had yet been initiated; however, neither the ministry nor the involved companies responded to Reuters' emailed inquiries seeking comment.

This closely follows a July 16 report by the German Aerospace Industries Association that said Germany lacks the capabilities needed to defend its critical infrastructure from drone activity by hostile states.

The BDLI highlighted the lack of a cohesive and effective response framework, criticizing the coordination between responsible agencies as "insufficient and overly complex," pointing to a concerning incident where unauthorized drone operations allegedly persisted undetected for several weeks above the Manching military airbase, exposing significant gaps in national security monitoring.

The association called on Berlin to make substantial investments in advanced counter-drone technologies a top priority while also pushing for the expedited creation of a robust legal structure that would enhance and maintain operational preparedness.