Details emerge of One Way Effector-Vertical (OWE-V), a loitering munition from STARK

The loitering munition known as One Way Effector – Vertical (OWE-V) from the German start-up STARK is ready for use in Ukraine, hartpunkt has learned from well-informed sources. 

It is understood that explosive tests of the OWE-V are currently taking place in Ukraine, where it is being equipped with live warheads and flown. This may indicate that it has achieved operational readiness ahead of being deployed, an expert told hartpunkt.

The OWE-V has a range of 100 km and can provide a high degree of targeting accuracy through AI-supported navigation, which allows the loitering munition to determine its position and navigate independently of satellite signals. The terminal guidance is also said to be AI-supported, so that the OWE-V does not lose the target during the final approach, even if the telemetry connection is disrupted. The image of the OWE-V, which was sourced by hartpunkt, also indicates that the system can fly at night. 

It is an electrically powered loitering munition with a take-off weight of around 31 kg including a 5 kg warhead that is also suitable for engaging tanks. As the system can take off and land vertically, it can be operated independently of any infrastructure – e.g. a launch catapult.

A mysterious past 

Loitering munitions are a category of weapons that has experienced an extraordinary technological leap in the course of the war in Ukraine. However, the main contribution to this development has come less from established arms companies than from small companies specialising in drone warfare and start-ups. Defense technology circles in Germany therefore heard with interest at the beginning of 2024 about the founding of a German start-up that would produce loitering munitions Ukraine under the STARK brand.

However, many details about the company or the product portfolio were not made public. Only a post published on the Ukrainian online portal Militarnyi in autumn 2024 and deleted shortly afterwards gave a brief insight into loitering munitions called SkyFall from a company called “StarkDefence”.

The article quoted a STARK company representative as saying that the vertical take-off and landing system, which could carry a 5 kg warhead, was in the test phase at the time of publication. The image in that article showed a missile with X-shaped wings, each with a propeller drive at the tip of the wing and a tail unit with four short wings, also arranged in an X shape. The X-shaped system design is particularly common in loitering munitions. Prominent Israeli, Russian and, more recently, German representatives of the loitering munition category rely on this design feature, which offers high stability and allows steep angles on the final approach.

This article, written by Waldemar Geiger was originally published in German by Hartpunkt on 28th February 2025. Hartpunkt and Calibre are collaborating to bring you the best content from across Europe.