Covenant Unveils Anthem Missile and Global Factory Network to Mass-Produce Long-Range Strike Weapons

Key points

• Covenant has unveiled its Anthem weapon, a ground-launched long-range strike munition designed for mass production rather than individual precision.
• The company plans to open a 105,000-square-foot facility in Grand Prairie, Texas, alongside existing sites in Leipzig, Germany, and Northern Israel, targeting a combined output of 12,000 units per year by 2028.
• Anthem carries a warhead of up to 250 kilograms, significantly lighter than the Tomahawk’s 450-kilogram payload, but is intended to be deployed in large barrages to saturate targets.
• The startup has secured approximately $150 million in orders, including a contract with the US Navy to develop a maritime variant and an accelerated qualification contract with the US Army.
• Covenant has raised over $250 million from investors including Andreessen Horowitz, Founders Fund, and 8VC, achieving a valuation of over $1 billion.
• The weapon has completed more than 200 test flights, including live-fire demonstrations at the Africa Multidomain Training and Experimentation Center in Morocco in August 2026.

Background

This development follows the US Department of Defense’s push for affordable, mass-produced long-range weapons, such as the Ground-Based Affordable Mass program, which seeks to supplement costly legacy missiles. Covenant’s entry into the market reflects a broader trend in defense procurement toward high-volume, lower-cost alternatives to address dwindling stockpiles and the demands of prolonged conflicts.

How outlets are covering it

While The War Zone emphasizes the technical specifications and the Army’s testing of the weapon, CNBC highlights the venture capital backing and the strategic gap Anthem fills between low-cost drones and expensive legacy missiles. The Financial Times focuses on the geopolitical implications, noting concerns in Europe regarding Covenant’s US ties and the company’s efforts to maintain a largely European supply chain for its German facility. All sources agree on the production targets and the strategic intent to counter threats from China, Russia, and Iran, but differ in their emphasis on the weapon’s classification and its role in broader defense modernization efforts.

Why it matters

The emergence of Covenant and its Anthem weapon signals a shift in long-range strike capabilities toward high-volume, lower-cost alternatives. This could reshape defense procurement and industrial strategy, potentially reducing reliance on expensive, slow-to-produce legacy systems and enhancing the ability of the US and its allies to sustain long-range strike operations in prolonged conflicts.

What to watch

Covenant is expected to begin serial production at its US facility in the first quarter of 2027. The company aims to scale up to 5,000 units per year at each of its three facilities by 2028. An unidentified international customer is expected to receive German-built weapons before the end of 2026, and the US Army is expected to receive deliveries in 2027 under an accelerated qualification contract.