Germany’s Rheinmetall has completed the acquisition of a 51% stake in Croatian company DOK-ING, in a move to strengthen its presence in the uncrewed vehicles sector.
DOK-ING, headquartered in Zagreb, will now operate under the name Rheinmetall Unmanned Vehicles. Its founder, Vjekoslav Majetić, will keep the remaining 49% share.
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The terms of the purchase were agreed in March this year with the signing taking place in Zagreb, though both parties chose not to disclose the financial details.
The cooperation brings together Rheinmetall’s tactical vehicle experience with DOK-ING’s background in uncrewed vehicle design and manufacturing.
The strategic partnership is underpinned by DOK-ING’s development of the Komodo, a modular hybrid platform with a payload exceeding 8.5 tonnes.
Rheinmetall will provide additional functionality to this platform by contributing various modules and kit packages, including systems for both direct and indirect fire, mine clearing, reconnaissance, and logistics.
Rheinmetall vehicle systems Europe division CEO Dr Björn Bernhard said: “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.”
DOK-ING, which founded in 1991, focuses on uncrewed systems designed for hazardous situations, including humanitarian and military demining, military engineering, chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) response, and protection of critical infrastructure.
The company has played a leading role in land-based unmanned mine clearance, having delivered approximately 500 platforms to over 40 countries.
DOK-ING reports having between 201 and 500 employees on its LinkedIn profile.
Looking ahead, DOK-ING and Rheinmetall plan to collaboration on the development of uncrewed support systems, such as the ‘Wingman’, which is intended to operate alongside battle tanks and infantry fighting vehicles for both reconnaissance and fire support.
These systems are also designed to complement Rheinmetall’s established vehicles, including the Panther KF51 Main Battle Tank, Büffel/Buffalo recovery tank, and Kodiak armoured engineer vehicle.
Vjekoslav Majetić said: “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.”
