Rheinmetall signed the agreement in Zagreb in March to acquire 51 per cent of DOK-ING. The company’s founder and previous sole owner, Vjekoslav Majetić, will retain 49 per cent, while the strategic partners agreed not to disclose the purchase price.
The acquisition expands Rheinmetall’s portfolio in the field of unmanned vehicles. The company said combining its expertise in tactical vehicles with DOK-ING’s capabilities creates a strong base of competence with considerable future potential.
The joint activities are based on DOK-ING’s newly developed Komodo platform. Komodo is a modular heavy-duty hybrid platform with a payload capacity of more than 8.5 tonnes.
Rheinmetall will contribute functional modules and equipment kits for the platform. These include systems for direct and indirect fire, mine clearing and laying operations, reconnaissance sensors and logistics.
The two European suppliers aim to realise ambitious projects, set new standards and prepare unmanned ground systems for series production and deployment. Rheinmetall said the new structure will support its position in unmanned combat and armoured support vehicles.
“We can now establish our competence centre in Croatia in the field of unmanned and autonomous vehicles for military purposes. With this new setup, we aim to achieve a strong market position in the segment of unmanned combat and armoured support vehicles. We see growth potential in this future market, and, at the same time, we are establishing a foothold in Croatia, an EU and NATO partner country and a highly attractive customer market”, Dr Björn Bernhard, CEO of Rheinmetall’s Vehicle Systems Europe division, reiterated upon receiving regulatory approval.
DOK-ING holds a strong market position in land-based unmanned mine clearance and operations in high-risk environments. Since its foundation, the company has delivered around 500 platforms to customers in more than 40 countries.
Rheinmetall said DOK-ING’s mine-clearance solutions are currently proving highly effective in operation, particularly in Ukraine. The company’s portfolio includes remotely operated and progressively autonomous platforms for humanitarian and military demining, military engineering operations, CBRN response and critical infrastructure protection.
Vjekoslav Majetić, who founded DOK-ING in 1991, referred to his words when the agreement was signed in March. “This step ensures that DOK-ING’s development, engineering excellence and core competencies will remain in Croatia.”
“By joining forces with Rheinmetall, we can expand our production capacities, accelerate the development of next-generation unmanned specialised systems and strengthen our long-term competitiveness. This will reinforce Croatia’s role within the European defence and technology landscape”.
DOK-ING and Rheinmetall plan to develop solutions for combat and combat support operations. These include an unmanned armed support system, known as Wingman, for use with battle tanks and infantry fighting vehicles in reconnaissance and fire support roles.
The companies also plan to use such systems alongside existing Rheinmetall products. These include the Panther KF51 main battle tank, the Büffel/Buffalo recovery tank and the Kodiak armoured engineer vehicle.
Rheinmetall said DOK-ING’s modular and scalable architectures allow rapid mission-specific configuration. The systems can support mine clearance, improvised explosive device disposal, route clearance, firefighting and other complex operational requirements.
The acquisition gives Rheinmetall a specialised production facility and a foothold in Croatia. The company said the transaction supports its wider effort to build capacity in unmanned and autonomous systems for defence customers.
