Destinus builds cruise and interceptor franchise

Destinus is turning a drone bottleneck into a two sided weapons business. Instead of living only on the crowded side of cheap attack drones, it now sells one product for striking targets at 700km and another for cheaply knocking down inbound drones, which lets the same propulsion and manufacturing base serve both offense and defense. That shift helps explain how the company moved from $70M in 2024 revenue to an estimated $250M in 2025.1 2 3

• The attack side is the Ruta cruise missile, priced around $400K, versus roughly one tenth the cost of a US Tomahawk and one sixth the cost of comparable European missiles. Missile sales made up 30% of 2025 revenue and are projected to drive 80% of 2026 revenue.1 2
• The defense side is Hornet, a roughly $50K interceptor launched in August 2026 for bases, ships, and power grids. The pitch is simple, use a cheap drone to kill a cheap drone, instead of burning a $1.5M to $2M air defense missile on each incoming target.1
• This is a broader pattern in European defense. Destinus, Quantum Systems, and Helsing are expanding from single products into full systems, much like Anduril and Shield AI in the US, because defense budgets increasingly reward companies that can supply complete mission kits instead of one aircraft at a time.1 3 4

The next step is for Destinus to look less like a drone supplier and more like a European missile prime. If production stays near 300 Ruta missiles per month and interceptor demand spreads across NATO base defense, the company can use one wartime manufacturing engine to compound into a larger strike and air defense franchise.1 2 4