Which defense startup has the largest contract backlog?

What actually counts as a defense startup’s contract backlog?

Anduril only looks like the clear backlog leader once we separate real orders from the enormous contract ceilings that dominate defense headlines.

The distinction sounds technical, but it completely changes the answer. A backlog is work that has actually been ordered or contractually committed and still has to be delivered. An IDIQ ceiling tells us how much a government may spend through a contract vehicle in the future. The government can spend far less.

Anduril is the best example. The U.S. Army gave the company a 10-year enterprise contract with a $20 billion ceiling. According to federal procurement data tracked by HigherGov, around $208 million of task-order value had been placed through that vehicle by early September, with about $155 million obligated. Roughly 1% of the ceiling had been used.

Skydio creates an even bigger distortion. The company was selected for the Missile Defense Agency's SHIELD contracting vehicle, whose total ceiling reaches $151 billion. That does not give Skydio anything close to a $151 billion backlog because many contractors compete for individual orders under the vehicle.

For our ranking, firm production orders count heavily. Minimum purchase commitments also count when the customer is explicitly committed to buying a defined quantity. Maximum contract ceilings mainly tell us how much room a company has to grow.

Headline figure	What has actually happened	How useful is it for backlog?
Anduril $20B Army enterprise contract	About $208M of task orders placed so far	Limited
MDA $151B SHIELD vehicle	Many companies can compete for future orders	Very limited
Anduril minimum 3,000 Barracuda-500M missiles	Defined minimum procurement commitment	Very useful
Tekever £220M CORVUS award	Contract awarded to Tekever	Very useful

Which defense startup appears to have the largest backlog today?

Anduril currently has the strongest claim to the largest defense-startup backlog, even though the company does not disclose one clean company-wide number.

The case comes from the amount of real contracted work sitting underneath the headline ceilings. Anduril now has active programs across cruise missiles, counter-drone systems, autonomous aircraft, surveillance, command-and-control software, tactical intelligence systems and other military hardware.

The Barracuda-500M agreement is especially important. The U.S. government has committed to procuring at least 3,000 surface-launched Barracuda-500M cruise missiles over three years. Anduril says the program is supposed to support production of at least 1,000 missiles per year. The contract price has not been disclosed, so we cannot turn those 3,000 missiles into a defensible dollar figure. But the quantity alone makes this one of the biggest confirmed production commitments held by any defense startup.

Anduril's Army enterprise vehicle is also starting to convert into actual production work. The Army recently awarded Anduril another $65 million delivery order tied to the TITAN intelligence system, alongside a $127 million order to Palantir. Earlier orders through the same Anduril vehicle included an $87 million counter-drone award.

Add the company's separate Marine Corps counter-UAS program, other active Pentagon awards and international work, and Anduril has a deeper order book than any startup for which we found comparable evidence.

The exact dollar gap remains unknowable because Anduril is private. The ranking is easier: Anduril is ahead.

If you want more recent data on this point, please see our latest defense tech market report.

Is Anduril’s famous $20 billion Army contract really a $20 billion backlog?

No. Anduril does not currently have $20 billion of booked Army work, and calling the entire contract a backlog would wildly overstate the business.

The Army created the 10-year enterprise vehicle so federal customers could buy Anduril products without setting up a separate procurement process each time. Even Anduril president Matthew Steckman publicly pushed back when people interpreted the announcement as $20 billion of immediate business, explaining that the vehicle initially came with no money attached.

What has changed since then is usage. HigherGov currently tracks about $207.8 million of potential task-order value under the vehicle and approximately $155.2 million obligated. The newest $65 million TITAN production order is a good example of the mechanism doing what it was designed to do: customers can move into real Anduril orders much faster.

The conversion rate is still tiny relative to the ceiling. About 1% of the $20 billion maximum has been used.

So there are two very different numbers. Roughly $208 million tells us about orders already placed through this particular vehicle. The remaining $19.8 billion represents purchasing capacity rather than booked future revenue.

At 10% utilization, the contract would eventually generate $2 billion of orders. At 25%, it would generate $5 billion. Anduril has a long way to go before either scenario becomes reality.

Does Anduril’s 3,000-missile Barracuda deal change the backlog ranking?

Yes. The minimum order for 3,000 Barracuda-500M missiles is probably the strongest single piece of evidence behind Anduril's number-one position today.

The agreement covers the procurement and delivery of at least 3,000 complete surface-launched Barracuda-500M systems over three years, according to Anduril and the U.S. government announcement. The quantity can rise if military requirements increase.

That language is unusually strong in a market full of “up to” contract values. The customer has established a minimum quantity rather than merely giving Anduril permission to compete for future orders.

Three thousand missiles also changes the manufacturing challenge. An evenly distributed schedule would mean roughly 1,000 missiles per year, or more than 80 per month. Anduril has already opened a 115,000-square-foot Barracuda manufacturing facility in California, while its much larger Arsenal-1 complex in Ohio is being built for high-volume weapons and autonomous-systems production.

A second production line announced with Poland's PGZ this summer points in the same direction. Anduril is preparing manufacturing capacity outside the United States for Barracuda-500M as well.

We still cannot put a trustworthy dollar value on the U.S. 3,000-unit commitment because the price has not been made public. Ignoring it, though, would make the ranking worse rather than more conservative.

Could Stark actually have a bigger backlog than Anduril?

Stark has become one of the closest challengers almost overnight, but the public evidence still falls short of proving a larger backlog than Anduril's.

The German Armed Forces signed a framework agreement with Stark for several thousand Virtus loitering munitions. Stark says full delivery is planned within two years after successful qualification, with deliveries beginning this year.

Reporting around the procurement has put the initial German order at roughly €269 million and the maximum framework at about €2.86 billion.

Those numbers need to stay separate. €269 million gives us a useful picture of Stark's starting commitment. The €2.86 billion figure depends on Germany ordering much more later.

The upside is remarkable for such a young company. Moving from €269 million toward €2.86 billion would expand Stark's German business by more than ten times. Few defense startups have a customer pathway that large.

Anduril still has the advantage because its contracted work spans many more programs and customers, while Stark's backlog is heavily tied to one fast-growing weapons franchise. If Germany starts exercising a large chunk of the framework, this comparison could flip quickly.

If you want more recent data on this point, please see our latest defense tech market report.

Is Helsing already close to Anduril on defense contracts?

Helsing is probably the strongest European rival to Anduril by contracted weapons volume, but we still cannot prove that its dollar backlog is larger.

Helsing first built its reputation around military AI software. Its order book now looks much more physical. The company announced an order for 4,000 HF-1 strike drones for Ukraine, followed by 6,000 HX-2 systems. Together, those programs represent 10,000 strike drones.

Germany has since created another much larger route to scale. Recent procurement reporting puts Helsing's initial strike-drone order at roughly €269 million, with the broader framework potentially reaching around €1.46 billion.

That combination makes Helsing unusual. We have thousands of systems already ordered for Ukraine, a major German procurement path and a software business that can sit across several military platforms.

The missing piece is money. Helsing has not publicly disclosed the value of the 10,000 Ukraine drones, while most of the €1.46 billion German framework remains dependent on future orders.

Helsing may already have one of the largest physical unit backlogs in defense tech. Anduril stays ahead in our financial ranking because its known programs are broader, and the Barracuda commitment adds another huge undisclosed production order.

Does Saronic already have a huge Navy backlog?

Saronic has one of the strongest U.S. production pipelines outside Anduril, although its often-quoted $392 million Navy figure should not all be treated as firm backlog today.

The Navy selected Saronic for an autonomous surface-vessel agreement with potential value above $392 million and deliveries stretching into 2031. The program is designed to move beyond prototypes into production-ready vessels, which makes it much more valuable than another experimental drone contract.

Saronic has also been expanding into larger ships. That changes the possible dollar scale quickly because a handful of larger autonomous vessels can be worth far more than hundreds of small drones.

The company nevertheless faces the same accounting problem as other defense startups. A contract's maximum potential value only becomes genuine backlog as funding and production orders are issued.

Saronic therefore belongs near the top of the U.S. ranking, but we do not yet see enough firm public commitments to put it ahead of Anduril.

Does Tekever have the biggest defense startup contract we can actually verify?

Tekever has one of the cleanest large awards in the sector: the British government has awarded the company a £220 million CORVUS contract.

The UK's procurement notice names Tekever as the winner and gives the award value as £220 million. Tekever says the broader CORVUS program can be worth as much as £400 million over ten years.

CORVUS will replace part of the British Army's surveillance capability using Tekever's AR5 autonomous aircraft. The planned fleet can grow substantially over the coming years, so this is already a real operating program rather than an early demonstration.

That £220 million figure is especially useful because there is much less ambiguity than with a multi-billion-dollar IDIQ. A named customer chose Tekever, an award was issued, and the government published its value.

Tekever has also won British work around the RAF's StormShroud autonomous system and already supplies drones used operationally in Ukraine.

There is one wrinkle: Tekever was founded in 2001. Calling a 25-year-old company a startup stretches the term much further than it does for Stark, Helsing or Saronic.

If we include mature privately held defense-tech companies, Tekever belongs near the top. Among the newer venture-backed defense startups, Anduril remains our first choice.

If you want more recent data on this point, please see our latest defense tech market report.

Is Shield AI’s contract backlog as big as its valuation suggests?

Shield AI has excellent military programs but surprisingly little publicly disclosed backlog relative to its enormous private valuation.

The company's clearest long-duration U.S. award is the Coast Guard's V-BAT maritime surveillance contract, which carries a maximum value of about $198 million through 2029. Shield AI has added V-BAT business with other governments and has pushed its Hivemind autonomy software into increasingly important aircraft programs.

Hivemind's selection for work connected to the U.S. Air Force's Collaborative Combat Aircraft effort could eventually become far more important than the Coast Guard contract. The attraction is obvious: Shield AI could sell autonomy software across aircraft made by other manufacturers rather than depending entirely on V-BAT sales.

But strategic potential is not backlog. Several recent contracts have undisclosed values, and large procurement vehicles on which Shield AI can compete do not belong in its order book until individual orders appear.

That creates an interesting gap. Investors have valued Shield AI around the scale its autonomy platform might eventually reach. Today's visible contracted workload is much smaller.

Which defense startups have the biggest real contracts right now?

Anduril leads on overall contracted workload, while Stark, Helsing, Tekever and Saronic now form a credible second group with individual programs reaching hundreds of millions.

The order of that second group depends heavily on what we measure. Tekever has a particularly clean £220 million award. Stark reportedly starts around €269 million under a framework that can grow dramatically. Helsing combines a similar German starting order with 10,000 previously announced Ukraine drones whose value is undisclosed. Saronic has a Navy program whose potential value exceeds $392 million.

Shield AI and Skydio are meaningful but sit below that group on the large contract values we can confidently verify. Skydio's recent Army order for more than 2,500 X10D drones exceeds $52 million. Shield AI has its roughly $198 million Coast Guard ceiling plus several undisclosed programs.

Smaller companies are still playing at a different scale. Epirus received a $43.55 million Army contract for second-generation high-power microwave systems. Firestorm's Air Force xCell agreement can reach roughly $22.9 million. Those are excellent wins for young companies, but we are talking tens of millions rather than several hundred million.

Company	Large current program	What we can reasonably say
Anduril	Minimum 3,000 Barracuda-500M missiles	Very large commitment; value undisclosed
Stark	German Virtus program	~€269M initial order; much larger framework
Helsing	German strike drones + 10,000 Ukraine drones	Large volume; important values undisclosed
Tekever	British Army CORVUS	£220M awarded; up to £400M program
Saronic	Navy autonomous vessels	More than $392M potential value
Shield AI	Coast Guard V-BAT	Up to ~$198M
Skydio	Army X10D drones	More than $52M
Epirus	Army high-power microwave systems	$43.55M

Are European defense startups catching Anduril faster than expected?

Yes. European defense startups are now winning weapons programs at a scale that would have looked exceptional a few years ago, and Germany is driving much of the jump.

Stark's Virtus framework can reach roughly €2.86 billion. Helsing's German strike-drone framework can reach around €1.46 billion. Britain has awarded Tekever a £220 million CORVUS contract inside a program worth up to £400 million.

The change goes beyond larger press releases. Stark expects to deliver several thousand loitering munitions after qualification. Helsing already has 10,000 strike drones tied to Ukraine orders. Tekever is becoming part of the British Army's long-term surveillance architecture.

European startups used to be easier to characterize as software companies, drone developers or specialist suppliers trying to get inside procurement systems controlled by traditional primes. Some are now receiving direct production commitments in the hundreds of millions.

Stark could make the fastest jump if Germany converts a significant part of its €2.86 billion framework into orders. Helsing has the broader platform and customer story. Tekever already has one of the cleanest large disclosed awards.

Anduril stays ahead for now because its order book reaches across more military services, mission types and hardware categories. But the gap is no longer comfortable enough to ignore Europe.

If you want more recent data on this point, please see our latest defense tech market report.

Which defense startup has the best-quality backlog, not just the biggest one?

Anduril currently has the strongest backlog mix because no single program appears capable of making or breaking the whole company.

The company sells counter-drone systems, missiles, autonomous aircraft, tactical intelligence hardware, surveillance systems, command-and-control software, undersea vehicles and other products. Different U.S. military services buy from Anduril, and international production is expanding as well.

That breadth makes the backlog easier to trust. Stark's current surge is heavily linked to Virtus. Saronic remains primarily a maritime autonomy story. Helsing is broader but still derives much of its visible weapons volume from European drone programs. Shield AI has concentrated much of its upside around V-BAT and Hivemind.

Anduril now faces a different problem: delivering all of this work.

A minimum 3,000-missile Barracuda commitment alone implies production of about 83 missiles per month if deliveries are spread evenly. Add autonomous aircraft, counter-drone installations, TITAN hardware and other programs, and manufacturing capacity becomes just as important as winning the next contract.

The company's response has been unusually aggressive. It has built the dedicated Barracuda facility in California, is developing the roughly five-million-square-foot Arsenal-1 complex in Ohio and has announced localized Barracuda production with Poland's PGZ.

So we give Anduril more confidence than companies whose backlog rests on one major contract. The main uncertainty has shifted toward execution: how quickly Anduril can turn that order book into accepted deliveries and revenue.

Could Helsing, Stark or Saronic overtake Anduril?

Helsing and Stark have the clearest near-term routes to catching Anduril, while Saronic could get there through much larger U.S. Navy platforms.

Helsing already combines enormous unit volumes with the beginnings of billion-euro German procurement. If Germany converts a substantial share of the €1.46 billion framework and Ukraine-related demand keeps producing follow-on orders, Helsing's backlog could move very quickly.

Stark has an even steeper potential jump. Its reported €269 million starting order sits under a framework reaching roughly €2.86 billion. A few major German follow-ons would dramatically change its position.

Saronic has a slower but potentially powerful route. Autonomous surface vessels are expensive platforms, and the Navy wants far more uncrewed capacity than it operates today. Moving from small vessels into larger ships could push individual Saronic awards into a completely different range.

Shield AI is harder to rank because Hivemind could create software revenue across fleets manufactured by other companies. That model could eventually produce a very attractive backlog, but the large recurring production orders needed to prove it are still emerging.

Challenger	What could push it past Anduril?
Helsing	German framework converts into large firm orders while drone volume keeps rising
Stark	Germany orders a substantial share of the €2.86B Virtus framework
Saronic	U.S. Navy moves from early autonomous-vessel batches to sustained fleet procurement
Shield AI	Hivemind becomes recurring production software across large aircraft fleets

Is Anduril still really a defense startup?

Anduril increasingly looks like a new defense prime, which is one reason its backlog now sits in a different class from most venture-backed defense companies.

The company has a 10-year government purchasing vehicle, a minimum 3,000-missile production commitment, recurring counter-drone work, autonomous aircraft programs, tactical intelligence production and a factory strategy built around manufacturing at much higher volumes.

Most defense startups spend years moving from demonstrations to contracts worth a few million dollars. Anduril is now receiving individual orders worth tens of millions while preparing for production programs measured in thousands of weapons.

Traditional primes still operate on another scale entirely. Lockheed Martin, RTX, Northrop Grumman and General Dynamics carry order books measured in many tens or hundreds of billions of dollars. Anduril is nowhere close to that level.

But comparing Anduril only with early-stage robotics or drone startups increasingly misses what the company has become. It is starting to compete for the same programs, manufacturing roles and long-duration customer relationships historically reserved for established defense contractors.

That explains why Anduril can lead a startup backlog ranking without possessing anything remotely close to the industry's largest backlog overall.

Which defense startup has the largest contract backlog?

Anduril has the largest defense-startup backlog we can defend today, although nobody outside the company can put a precise audited dollar figure on it.

The wrong answer would be “$20 billion.” Only about $208 million of task-order value has so far been placed through Anduril's $20 billion Army enterprise vehicle, according to current federal-contract tracking. The recent $65 million TITAN production order shows that the vehicle is converting into business, but it remains only lightly used.

The better evidence sits across Anduril's whole portfolio. The company has a minimum commitment for 3,000 Barracuda-500M missiles, large counter-drone work, new TITAN production, autonomous-aircraft programs and many other active military contracts. No other startup we reviewed combines that production volume with the same breadth of customers and programs.

Helsing is currently the strongest European challenger. Stark could move up exceptionally fast if Germany exercises a meaningful share of its €2.86 billion framework. Tekever has one of the biggest cleanly disclosed individual awards at £220 million. Saronic has a serious route into sustained U.S. Navy production.

None of them has yet shown enough firm contracted work across enough programs to displace Anduril.

So our answer is Anduril. It wins because of the accumulated order book underneath its giant contract ceilings, not because those ceilings themselves represent backlog.

If you want more recent data on this point, please see our latest defense tech market report.

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