Peter Thiel-backed firm to make low-cost missiles amid U.S. shortage

Peter Thiel-backed firm to make low-cost missiles amid U.S. shortage - The Washington Post

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Peter Thiel-backed firm to make low-cost missiles amid U.S. shortage

Defense start-up Covenant said it has inked about $150 million in orders to start being delivered in 2027.

September 9, 2026 at 5:25 p.m. EDT

Today at 5:25 p.m. EDT

*Covenant's long-range, heavy-payload cruise missile makes a test flight in June. The defense start-up says they can be produced quickly and at a low cost. (Covenant/Reuters)*

TechnologyChevron right

By

Pranshu Verma

A defense technology start-up backed by Silicon Valley billionaire Peter Thiel announced Wednesday that it is making long-range cruise missiles that can be produced at a low cost, amid a U.S. weapons stockpile shortage that has been caused by the U.S. conflict in Iran.

The start-up, Covenant, announced that it is making a heavy-payload missile called Anthem that can be produced quickly and in large quantities to combat U.S. adversaries.

The product has not formally entered the battlefield, but it has undergone about 200 test flights so far, the company said. Covenant said it has inked roughly $150 million in orders to start being delivered in 2027.

Michael Kaufman, the company’s chief executive, said the U.S. fired more than 1,000 Tomahawk missiles in the first five weeks of the Iran conflict, noting that a conflict with Moscow or Beijing would require far more armaments.

“The West needs to be prepared for wars against countries such as Russia and China,” he said in a post on X. “The real challenge is not replacing the weapons that have already been consumed. It is building a new arsenal capable of overwhelming scale.”

Covenant was started in 2024 and has since raised $250 million from Thiel’s Founders Fund, Andreessen Horowitz, Lux, 8VC, Aleph and Lightspeed.

The company on Wednesday opened a 105,000-square-foot plant in Dallas that will anchor its U.S. production line. Later this year, Covenant will open a 110,000-square-foot facility in Saxony, Germany, and a 30,000-square-foot building in northern Israel.

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What readers are saying

The comments express skepticism and criticism regarding government contracts and the defense industry, particularly focusing on potential cronyism involving figures like Peter Thiel and Donald Trump. Concerns are raised about the cost and effectiveness of military spending, with... Show more

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