Munich-based startup Alpine Eagle is rolling out production of its Sentinel drone defense system across Europe: Alpine Eagle plans to open a 2,000 square meter production facility near Munich for a self-developed interceptor, among other things. In parallel, the company is expanding its production capacities through a partnership with Dutch manufacturer Deltaquad. The company uses Deltaquad’s UAV platform Deltaquad Evo as the technical basis for its system. According to the company, Alpine Eagle combines this hardware with its own sensors, radar, and software. By combining proven hardware with its own sensor and defense software, the startup aims to deploy its systems faster than traditional defense programs.
Sentinel is designed to detect, track, and neutralize hostile drones across large areas using air-based interceptors. Alpine Eagle describes the system as a software-defined defense architecture that can be deployed and scaled quickly.
Expansion in Europe and staffing
The Bundeswehr was Sentinel’s first customer in 2024. Since then, Alpine Eagle has signed contracts with three additional European customers. The startup has also expanded its presence to the UK and the Netherlands.
Several programs and tests are underway. According to the company, Alpine Eagle is participating in an innovation program for defense in the Netherlands. Last year, the company also conducted drone defense tests in Ukraine and participated in Project Vanaheim, a counter-UAS test with American and British armed forces.
Alpine Eagle has also grown its team. Alpine Eagle reports increasing the number of employees from 12 in 2024 to 50 in 2026. According to the company, the team is expected to grow to 100 employees this year.
Current conflicts as proof of concept
Alpine Eagle argues that current global conflicts demonstrate a cost problem: drone attacks are often relatively inexpensive, while their defense is costly. According to the company, this is increasing demand for systems that can neutralize drones faster and more cost-effectively.
Jan-Hendrik Boelens, founder and CEO of Alpine Eagle, says:
“Defense ministries are increasingly looking for systems that can be delivered quickly and scaled with growing demand. By leveraging existing industrial capacities and integrating them with our sensor and software architecture, we want to enable exactly that.”
Alpine Eagle was founded in 2023 and describes itself as a team of machine learning experts and aerospace engineers. To date, the Munich-based startup has raised more than 10 million euros.
