The Franco-German defence group KNDS is moving on two fronts at once. While its board gathers in Frankfurt and Paris to lock in the final timetable for a blockbuster IPO, the German arm of the business has laid out plans to double its domestic workforce by the end of the decade. That means 4,000 to 5,000 new employees, with additional jobs expected to ripple through the supply chain.
KNDS Germany chief Florian Hohenwarter used the sidelines of the Eurosatory defence exhibition near Paris to announce the production push. Two new sites in Germany will come online to absorb the growth. At the Allach plant near Munich, KNDS already turns out ten BOXER drive modules a month. By 2030, total BOXER output is slated to multiply sixfold.
A prototype of an autonomous drone container — built in partnership with TYTAN Technologies and Helsing — is the star of KNDS’s Eurosatory stand this week. The 20-foot ISO unit combines TYTAN’s METIS interceptor drones with Helsing’s HX-2 attack variant, all managed by Helsing’s Altra software. It operates fully self-sufficiently, with its own power supply, climate control, and network hook-up, and can accommodate dozens to over a hundred small effectors depending on configuration. The system blurs the line between offence and defence: METIS uses AI-driven thermal imaging to autonomously neutralise hostile drones, turning the container into a local air-defence node.
KNDS is also showing the new MARS 3 rocket launcher, capable of reaching targets up to 300 kilometres, and the TARGAS drone-defence system. The group’s CEO, Jean-Paul Alary, described the current phase as “a new chapter” and confirmed he is exploring whether automotive plants could be converted for military production, for example to build the Leopard 2 or the Caesar howitzer.
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The numbers behind the noise are striking. KNDS booked 2025 revenue of €4.4 billion, up roughly 16 per cent from the prior year, and finished the year with an order backlog of €33.1 billion — fuelled by a record intake of €13.5 billion. The group employs nearly 11,000 people and has a clear runway for expansion.
That backlog is the bedrock of the IPO ambition. The board meets today to set a definitive schedule for a dual listing in Frankfurt and Paris. If all goes to plan, the process could be launched within the week, potentially making it one of the largest European stock-market debuts of 2026. KNDS hopes to raise up to €5 billion in fresh equity, partly to finance the capacity build-out and new technologies. Analysts have pencilled in a valuation of between €18 billion and €20 billion.
There is, however, a significant political snag. Berlin wants to take a 40 per cent stake in the company, matching the French government’s holding, and the price at which that stake enters is the subject of a row. German family shareholders insist on a premium, while the government wants to pay the IPO price. Today’s board session is meant to resolve that tension. In addition, Bundestag deputies have attached conditions to their approval — including the “German Eyes Only” principle to safeguard sensitive technology and guarantees that critical industrial capacity remains in Germany.
Market watchers note that the defence-sector euphoria has cooled slightly in recent months, but long-term demand remains underpinned by rising NATO budgets. The question for investors is whether they can stomach the complex Franco-German governance and whether KNDS can actually work through that €33 billion order book without delays. Today’s board decision will be the first real test of that credibility.
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