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The Düsseldorf-based technology group Rheinmetall is expanding its portfolio through an acquisition in the field of unmanned vehicles. In Zagreb, Rheinmetall has finalized its agreement to acquire a majority stake in the Croatian vehicle specialist DOK-ING. Rheinmetall will acquire 51% of the company, while the founder and previous sole owner, Vjekoslav Majetić, will retain the remaining 49%. Both parties have agreed to keep the purchase price confidential. The transaction is subject to approval by the relevant regulatory authorities.
In the presence of Ivan Anušić, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence of Croatia, Vjekoslav Majetić and Dr. Björn Bernhard, CEO of Rheinmetall's Vehicle Systems Europe division, signed the contractual agreement on March 4, 2026.
Dr. Björn Bernhard: “The combination of Rheinmetall’s know-how in the field of tactical vehicles and DOK-ING’s capabilities in unmanned vehicles creates a unique competence that opens up considerable future potential for us. At the same time, we are establishing a foothold in the EU and NATO partner state of Croatia and gaining access to this highly interesting customer country.”
“Our competence center for unmanned and autonomous vehicles for military applications is now being established in Croatia. Our goal is to achieve a strong market position in the segment of unmanned combat and combat support vehicles with this new setup. We see this as a growing future market and are launching at the ideal time to be successful with our new products in the global market. Ongoing and planned procurement projects in many countries confirm this ,” Dr. Björn Bernhard continued.
DOK-ING holds a strong market position in the field of unmanned mine clearance on land and in high-risk environments, both in the civilian and military sectors. Since its founding, the company has delivered approximately 500 platforms to customers in over 40 countries. DOK-ING's unmanned mine clearance solutions are currently proving particularly effective in Ukraine.
As early as October 2024, the two companies had agreed on a partnership, the initial focus of which was on the joint development of an unmanned vehicle for mine clearance as well as mine laying.
The basis of the joint activities is DOK-ING's newly developed modular, heavy hybrid platform Komodo, which has a payload capacity of over 8.5 tons. Rheinmetall is contributing various functional modules and equipment sets, including those for direct and indirect fire, mine clearance and laying, reconnaissance sensors, logistics, etc.
Dr. Björn Bernhard: “DOK-ING and Rheinmetall are two leading European providers in their respective fields. This merger will enable us to realize demanding projects. Together, we aim to set new standards and pave the way for unmanned ground systems that are ready for series production and deployment.”
Vjekoslav Majetić, who founded DOK-ING in 1991: “This partnership with Rheinmetall marks the next phase in DOK-ING’s development. Over more than three decades, we have built up strong technological expertise and established a solid international presence in demanding markets. We have now reached a stage where further value creation and production scaling require a partner with significant industrial capacity, expertise in system integration, and global market access.”
“DOK-ING’s development, technical excellence, and core competencies will remain in Croatia. The merger with Rheinmetall will create the conditions to expand production capacity, accelerate the development of next-generation unmanned special systems, and strengthen our long-term competitiveness ,” Majetić added. “This strategic step positions DOK-ING for sustainable growth and strengthens Croatia’s role within the European defense and technology landscape.”
In this new partnership, DOK-ING and Rheinmetall plan to develop a wide range of solutions for combat and combat support operations. This includes a project for an unmanned armed support system (known as "Wingman") designed to be used alongside main battle tanks and infantry fighting vehicles for reconnaissance and fire support purposes. These systems will also be deployed in conjunction with existing Rheinmetall products such as the Panther KF51 main battle tank, the Buffalo/Buffalo recovery vehicle, and the Kodiak armored engineering vehicle.
