Alta Ares wins six NATO counter-drone lots in first big deal

From prototype to allied orders

The relationship began in March 2025, when Alta Ares won the NATO Innovation Challenge held in Poland. A first contract funded a prototype, and initial trials took place in France in June 2025, including with Ukrainian representatives.

The framework contract allows subcontracts with every NATO member state. Systems are listed, and each country can pick a solution without running a new tender. The exact value of the framework is not known, but Canter said it could unlock "several tens of millions of euros."

He argues that experience in Ukraine strengthened the bid, citing numerous letters of support from the Ukrainian army. The alliance wants to be interoperable with members and with key partners such as Ukraine, he said.

The six lots concern protecting zones and borders. Alta Ares is the only company selected for area defense in all three mobility configurations: fixed installations, transportable equipment and systems that operate on the move. Its AI software was trained on data from Ukraine and operations in the Gulf. "Behind every successful test, there were hundreds of crashes," Canter said.

Production and hiring

First deliveries are targeted for the second or third quarter of next year to key alliance countries, with priority on NATO's eastern flank and the Nordic states.

The company is funding the ramp-up with the €50 million round announced in June 2026, led by Air Street Capital with Cherry Ventures, OTB Ventures and Harpoon Ventures. The money goes to production in Toulouse and Ukraine and to system development. Headcount has risen from 60 to 140, with former Palantir and Meta staff among the hires, and the firm is still seeking software engineers and AI deployment specialists. For the largest orders, it plans production capacity inside customer countries.