Startup Covenant aims to produce 2,000 units next year

Orders worth 190 billion won ... priced at one-tenth of Tomahawk's cost

The Anthem missile during a test flight. (Reuters)
The Anthem missile during a test flight. (Reuters)

US defense startup Covenant plans to mass-produce missiles at factories in the US, Germany and Israel to counter threats from China, Russia and Iran, the Financial Times reported Wednesday (local time).

Covenant, backed by tech millionaire Peter Thiel's Founders Fund and other investors, told the FT, "We have been quietly preparing for two years, and now we are officially launching."

Covenant aims to produce 1,000 units of its Anthem missile at each of its German and US factories next year. It plans to ramp up to 5,000 units annually at each of three factories in Germany, the US and Israel starting in 2028. The deep-strike missile is expected to reshape the defense market.

Anthem was developed as a low-cost alternative to the US Tomahawk cruise missile. The Tomahawk, which has a range of 1,600 kilometers, costs $4 million to $6 million per unit. Anthem, meanwhile, is priced in the mid-hundreds of thousands of euros, or about $583,000.

Anthem's range remains undisclosed under nondisclosure agreements with customers, but Covenant co-founder and CEO Michael Kaufman told the FT that the missile "was designed to align with Germany and the UK's plans to jointly develop precision deep-strike weapons with a range of more than 2,000 kilometers."

Anthem's warhead weighs up to 250 kilograms, a little more than half the Tomahawk's 450 kilograms. While Tomahawk stockpiles have run low in the wake of the war with Iran, Anthem can be mass-produced.

Covenant said it has already received orders worth about 130 million euros ($151 million).

"We aim to combine low cost with high output, using parts that are easy to source," Kaufman said. "Our goal is to supply Europe, the US and our allies with precision deep-strike solutions at scale."

Covenant has secured factories in Dallas; Leipzig, Germany; and Israel, with operations set to begin early next year.

US defense contractor Raytheon has been producing 60 Tomahawks a year but recently signed a $23 billion contract with the US government to produce 1,000 units annually.

Kaufman, 36, holds dual US and Israeli citizenship. He co-founded the company in 2024 with Ofri Dayan, a former senior engineer for the Iron Dome air defense system at Israel's Rafael.

Asked whether Anthem should be classified as a cruise missile or a long-range drone, Covenant President Avi Denburg said, "We define it as a precision deep-strike guided munition."

The FT reported that Covenant's investors include Peter Thiel's Founders Fund, which has close ties to President Donald Trump. Other investors include Andreessen Horowitz and venture capital firm 8VC, both of which have deep connections to Trump. Alpha, an Israeli venture capital firm, has also invested in Covenant; the firm's co-founder serves as an adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Gaza and US-related affairs.


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