Latvia is pursuing the acquisition of Anduril Industries’ Barracuda cruise missiles, seeking a longer-range strike capability on NATO’s eastern flank. President Edgars Rinkēvičs said Latvia expects to complete the purchase after visiting Anduril and meeting its founder, Palmer Luckey.
The planned deal would mark a substantial expansion of Latvia’s ability to strike at range. Latvia’s longest-range strike weapon currently on order is the Army Tactical Missile System, a ballistic missile with a range of about 300 km (186 miles). The Barracuda-500 would give Latvian forces roughly three times that reach.
Latvia is buying six HIMARS launchers under a deal approved by the U.S. State Department in 2023. The brief does not state how many Barracuda missiles Latvia plans to buy, what the purchase will cost, when deliveries could begin, or how the missiles would be integrated with Latvian military platforms.
During Rinkēvičs’s visit, memoranda of cooperation were signed involving Latvia’s Ministry of Defense and Origin Robotics, a Riga-based Latvian drone maker that builds drones for military use. Details of those memoranda have not been disclosed.
Anduril unveiled the Barracuda family in September 2024. The turbojet-powered, subsonic cruise missiles come in three versions: the Barracuda-100, -250 and -500. The largest version carries a warhead of more than 45 kg (99 pounds) over 926 km (575 miles).
The three variants share more than 90% of their components. Anduril says the system costs about 30% less and takes half the time to produce than similar cruise missiles. The missiles can be launched from fighter jets, helicopters, cargo aircraft, ships and ground launchers.
Latvia’s interest comes as the Barracuda-500M gains backing from larger armed forces. In May, the U.S. Department of War signed a framework agreement under which Anduril is to deliver at least 1,000 surface-launched Barracuda-500Ms a year to the U.S. Army for three years, starting in 2027.
Poland has also committed to a role in the programme. In July, the state-owned defence group PGZ signed an agreement to assemble and later produce the Barracuda-500M at its Military Aviation Works No. 2 plant in Bydgoszcz. The Polish agreement places production of the missile in a regional context as Latvia considers its own purchase.
Anduril Industries was founded on 20 April 2017 by Palmer Luckey, Trae Stephens, Matt Grimm, Joe Chen and Brian Schimpf. The company closed a US$5 billion Series H round in May 2026 at a US$61 billion valuation.
Its recent military contracts also extend beyond the Barracuda programme. The Air Force ordered Anduril’s FQ-44A Fury into production in June 2026, while the Army signed a ten-year, $20 billion Lattice enterprise vehicle agreement in March. Arsenal-1, the hyperscale factory near Columbus, Ohio, began Fury production in March 2026. The first Ohio-built aircraft rolled off the line on 27 July after 126 days on the line.
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