Quantum Systems

What they do

Quantum Systems designs and builds small unmanned aircraft that take off and land vertically like a multicopter and then fly efficiently on fixed wings. The aircraft carry cameras and sensors for reconnaissance, surveillance and mapping, and they are paired with software for planning missions and controlling fleets of uncrewed systems. Customers range from surveyors and agricultural users to armed forces, with its tactical Vector drone sold only to governments.

Why it matters

The war in Ukraine turned small drones from a niche into a central military capability, and Quantum Systems was one of the few European companies ready to supply them at scale. Its Vector aircraft have been delivered to Ukraine in large numbers through German government support and ordered by several European armies. The company has shifted from a civilian start-up into a dual-use defence supplier, and in 2025 it became one of Europe's first defence technology companies to reach unicorn status.

That trajectory is significant for Germany, which long kept defence and venture capital at arm's length. Quantum Systems shows a different model: a privately funded, product-led company selling directly to ministries, iterating quickly on battlefield feedback and expanding production abroad, including in the United States and Ukraine.

Products to know

• Vector: the tactical reconnaissance drone, developed with Auterion and sold to government customers.
• Trinity: the vertical take-off mapping and surveying aircraft that established the company.
• Twister: a reconnaissance drone ordered by the German armed forces.
• MOSAIC UXS: software for controlling unmanned systems across multiple domains.

The German angle

Florian Seibel, a former Bundeswehr helicopter pilot who had worked as an aerospace researcher at the University of the Bundeswehr Munich, founded the company in January 2015. It is based in Gilching, west of Munich, close to the Oberpfaffenhofen aerospace hub and the German Aerospace Center. The company says its systems are designed, engineered and manufactured in Germany or elsewhere in Europe. It has become a symbol of the Munich region's emerging defence technology scene, which also includes companies working on autonomy, sensors and satellite imagery.