Destinus raises €50M facility to expand autonomous flight production

Dutch aerospace and defencetech company  Destinus has secured a €50 million financing facility from Commerzbank, marking the company’s first commercial bank facility and supporting the next phase of its industrial expansion across Europe.  

The Commerzbank facility complements €140 million in recently completed convertible instruments and shareholder loans, following the company’s earlier equity financing. 

Together, these new financings build on more than €200 million in previously raised equity, bringing Destinus’ total capital raised to nearly €400 million to date.

Check out an earlier interview we did with Martina Lofqvist, Senior Business Development Manager at Destinus.

From fast hypersonic flight to dual-use tech

When Destinus launched in 2021, it captured my attention with a highly ambitious vision: hydrogen-powered hypersonic aircraft capable of flying at Mach 5+, potentially cutting intercontinental journeys such as Europe to Australia from around 20 hours to four.

Early experimental aircraft, including the Jungfrau and Eiger demonstrators, were explicitly designed to test aerodynamics, propulsion concepts, and materials for a future hypersonic “hyperplane,” positioning Destinus as one of Europe’s boldest bets on green, ultra-high-speed aviation.

Over the past two years, however, the company has recalibrated toward more immediate and commercially viable opportunities. Rather than prioritising a full-scale hypersonic passenger aircraft, Destinus has shifted its centre of gravity to near-term, dual-use aerospace technologies, particularly autonomous and uncrewed systems. Its current portfolio includes UAV platforms such as LORD, RUTA, and Hornet, aimed at surveillance, mapping, rapid response, and defence applications.

This strategic refocus was reinforced in 2025 with the acquisition of Swiss AI avionics specialist Daedalean in a deal reported at around $220–225 million, signalling that Destinus now sees its competitive edge less in raw speed and more in AI-driven autonomy and deployable systems — especially in defence and security markets where demand and timelines are clearer.

Destinus is strengthening its role within the Dutch and broader European defence industrial base. With 750 engineers and specialists across Europe, the company combines AI-driven engineering, vertical integration, and large-scale production to design and manufacture autonomous systems and effectors at an industrial scale.

“Securing this facility is an important milestone for Destinus and a strong signal of confidence in Europe’s ability to build high-performance autonomous flight systems at scale. It reinforces our production roadmap and accelerates the industrialisation of our platforms for European and allied customers,” said Mikhail Kokorich, Founder and CEO of Destinus. 

The new capital will accelerate the expansion of Destinus’ production lines, integration facilities, and testing infrastructure, enabling the company to supply scalable, cost-efficient autonomous systems that reinforce European defence readiness and strengthen sovereign industrial capacity across allied nations.