Kongsberg to acquire 90% of ERAM-maker Zone 5 Technologies

Zone 5 Technologies' White Spike C-UAV interceptor missile system seen during testing in imagery released in September 2025. (Zone 5 Technologies)

Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace announced an agreement to acquire 90% of the shares of US-based company Zone 5 Technologies with a focus on designing and producing mass-producible cruise missiles, according to a Kongsberg press release in late December 2025.

The acquisition was called a “strategic step” by Kongsberg as Zone 5 is at the “forefront of developing affordable missiles to be produced in high numbers”, Geir Håøy, CEO of Kongsberg, said in the release.

According to Kongsberg the acquisition should contribute to its full spectrum of air-defence capabilities, intended to “defend every layer” from threats including unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and ballistic missiles.

Zone 5, according to Kongsberg, has secured, or been downselected for, a number of US government contracts including for the US Air Force (USAF)-managed Extended Range Attack Munition (ERAM) and Family of Affordable Mass Missiles (FAMM) and the US Defense Innovation Unit-managed flight-testing of low-cost kill systems against larger UAVs.

In September 2025, a spokesperson for the Armament Directorate at the USAF's Air Force Materiel Command, told Janes that two US companies, Zone 5 Technologies and CoAspire, were the only vendors for ERAM. Previously, in August, Janes was told by a Zone 5 representative that its Rusty Dagger air-launched cruise missile was the base platform for its version of ERAM.

A Zone 5 representative said on 5 January that they did not wish to comment on the Kongsberg acquisition specifics or how it will impact their organisation moving forward.

For more information, please see Update: Rusty Dagger, RAACM cruise missiles behind USD825 million ERAM FMS to Ukraine .