Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs announced on September 25 that Latvia is moving to acquire Anduril Industries’ Barracuda family of long-range cruise missiles following a visit to the American company’s California facilities. The planned purchase would make Latvia the first Baltic state to field a strike weapon of that reach, significantly expanding the country’s conventional deterrence capabilities along NATO’s eastern flank.
Writing on the social media platform X, President Rinkēvičs stated, “It was great to visit Anduril to meet with Palmer Luckey and to witness signing of memoranda of cooperation with MOD of Latvia and Origin Robotics. Looking forward to complete acquisition of Barracuda long-range missiles and Latvian-US defense industry cooperation.” Neither Latvia nor Anduril has disclosed the specific variant requested, the total number of missiles, the financial value of the contract, or a scheduled delivery date.
Evaluating Capabilities and Launch Configurations
The Barracuda family features several autonomous, jet-powered variants designed to address shortfalls in affordable and producible long-range precision weapons. Anduril claims the missile requires half the production time, 95 percent fewer tools, and half the parts compared to legacy weapons systems. The long-range Barracuda-500M variant provides a range of more than 500 nautical miles, equivalent to roughly 926 kilometers. This exceeds by approximately three times the reach of the Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) rounds that Latvia has already ordered for its HIMARS launchers.
https://x.com/edgarsrinkevics/status/1971258259806331293
The surface-launched Barracuda-500M and related variants can operate autonomously and collaboratively, functioning as aerial decoys as well as active strike munitions.
Industrial Scaling and European Production Networks
Production for the missile family is expanding internationally. The U.S. Department of War signed a framework agreement in May for at least 1,000 surface-launched Barracuda-500Ms annually over a three-year period for the United States Army, scheduled to begin in 2027. Subsequently, in July, Polish state defense group PGZ reached an agreement to assemble and eventually produce the same variant at its Military Aviation Works No. 2 plant in Bydgoszcz. PGZ indicated that regional European production could qualify the missile for purchase by other European Union member states utilizing the bloc’s SAFE defense loan program.
Latvian officials have not yet confirmed whether any Barracuda assembly or manufacturing work will take place domestically. However, the Investment and Development Agency of Latvia noted that the ongoing defense technology delegation to the United States is actively exploring joint development, testing, manufacturing, system integration, and supply chain partnerships.
Counter-Drone Integration and Regional Defense Strategy
Alongside the cruise missile initiative, President Rinkēvičs witnessed the signing of a second major defense agreement focusing on counter-uncrewed aircraft systems. Under this agreement, Riga-based Origin Robotics will integrate its BLAZE autonomous interceptor into Anduril’s Lattice command and control system. This integration aims to deliver a layered counter-drone capability for Latvia and the wider NATO eastern flank.
The BLAZE system is a briefcase-sized interceptor utilizing radar and camera guidance for precision engagement. Another Origin Robotics product, the BEAK drone, is already deployed in active service with Ukrainian forces, providing battlefield-tested utility for the regional security framework.