Frankenburg Technologies just signed a defence cooperation deal with Colt CZ Group. Now, innovative interceptors from Estonia meet industrial-scale production in the Czech Republic and beyond to pave the way for a more secure Europe.
A cooperation agreement between Estonian missile defence company Frankenburg Technologies and Czech arms manufacturer Colt CZ Group was signed on 27 May in Tallinn, at the Estonia–Czechia Business Forum. The event was timed to coincide with the state visit of Czech President Petr Pavel. Both Estonian President Alar Karis and President Pavel were present for the signing.
The forum brought together more than 50 companies and public sector representatives from both countries, with a clear focus on defence and cybersecurity. The programme covered ground from defence procurement procedures and cyber sector overviews to direct B2B meetings – with the Czech delegation continuing on to Tartu the following day, where Cybernetica hosted a dedicated cybersecurity roundtable.
From innovations to scaling
Frankenburg is one of the more closely watched companies to have emerged from Estonia’s DefenceTech scene boom. Founded in 2024 by Taavi Madiberk and Marko Virkebau, the company was built around a straightforward idea: modern aerial threats can now be produced cheaply and at scale, while missile manufacturing has historically prioritised performance over speed, cost, and regeneration. Its answer is the Mark I interceptor – a low-cost, precision-guided missile designed from the outset for mass production.
CEO Kusti Salm – a former Estonian Minister of Defence and current NATO Innovation Fund director – joined in September 2024. In January, Frankenburg announced a partnership with Babcock, the UK defence contractor, to co-develop maritime counter-drone systems for ships, ports, and offshore infrastructure. In March, it signed a framework production agreement with Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa (PGZ), Poland’s state-owned defence group, covering the joint development and manufacture of counter-UAS and air defence solutions.
The Colt CZ deal now adds a significant Central European industrial partner to that growing network. The Prague-headquartered group employs over 4,500 people across production facilities in the Czech Republic, the United States, Canada, Sweden, Switzerland, and Hungary.
The Ukraine angle is central to the Frankenburg’s pitch. As Salm said at the forum: “Frankenburg is pursuing this priority in collaboration with Colt CZ Group to help Ukraine access attritable interceptor missiles and launchers against mass aerial attacks, while expanding affordable missile defence capacity for the Czech Republic and European allies.”
What Estonia and Czech Republic build in DefenceTech
Both countries are seeing strong growth in their Defence sector. In Estonia, for example, Milrem Robotics has established itself as a leading European producer of unmanned ground vehicles; Cybernetica operates across secure communications and e-governance infrastructure; and a cluster of smaller firms now works across autonomous systems, cyber defence, and battlefield communications.
Mariin Ratnik, Undersecretary for Economic and Development Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, says: “Estonia’s defence sector is a rapidly growing high-tech field in which our companies have strong capabilities in areas such as cyber defence, robotics, autonomous systems and communications.”
The Czech delegation itself reflected the seriousness with which Prague is approaching the bilateral relationship. Among the 30 companies represented were:
- AERO Vodochody AEROSPACE – Europe’s oldest continuously operating aerospace manufacturer, with over 11,000 aircraft produced since 1919
- Tatra Defence Vehicle, maker of the Pandur II and TITUS armoured platforms, SVOS, which produces the MARS 4×4 short-range air defence vehicle,
- URC Systems, a specialist in radio jamming and drone countermeasures (with dedicated business development for the Nordics and Baltics),
- MESIT, a tactical communications systems supplier.
On the cyber side, the delegation included: Safetica, Phonexia (voice biometrics and deepfake detection, active in 60+ countries), and Semantic Visions, which runs multilingual open-source intelligence across 12 languages.
Rounding out a delegation that skewed heavily military was Prusa Research – whose 3D printers are used by SpaceX, Tesla, and NASA, and have found applications in defence prototyping – and VAFO Group, a Czech pet food manufacturer that already operates a subsidiary in Estonia.
The forum was organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in cooperation with the Estonian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Are you interested in trading with Estonia? Enterprise Estonia is providing sourcing services for foreign enterprises. Contact Estonian export advisors or use our free e-consulting service to start trade with Estonia.
