A new weapons manufacturer has entered the defense contracting sphere, announcing its plan to start production of a long-range, heavy-payload missile system at a new plant near Dallas next year. Covenant is headquartered in Washington, D.C., but will start production of its Anthem weapon system at a rate of 1,000 units/per year during Q1 2027, at its 105,000-square-foot plant in Grand Prairie, Tex.

At full scale, the new Texas plant will produce 5,000 units/per year. Covenant also operates a 110,000-square-foot plant in Saxony, Germany, and a 32,000-square-foot plant in northern Israel.

Long-range missiles are in heavy demand and the object of multiple recent Pentagon contracts as the U.S. replenishes its weapons supplies. The government has also revised its purchasing terms to encourage contractors to add manufacturing capacity for its projected missile requirements

The Pentagon is also availing itself of the development and capabilities of various new, high-tech defense contractors, including Anduril, Hadrian, and Palantir. Covenant’s financing sources include investment funds backed by Netscape co-founder Marc Andreesen and Paypal and Palantir founder Peter Thiel.

The new company was founded in 2024 but has been operating in “stealth mode” while securing more than $250 million of start-up capital over three funding rounds, building its manufacturing infrastructure, and developing and testing the Anthem missile system.

Anthem is a ground-launched cruise missile that will carry a payload of more than 200 kg (441 lbs.) and a range estimated 1,200 to 1,500 km (approximately 740 to 932 miles.) That would make Anthem tactically comparable to the Tomahawk cruise missiles now in use by the U.S. Army and defense forces of allied nations.

The missile system has been developed to produced affordably and in higher volumes - using commercial-off-the-shelf components - than current long-strike options, and to be “transported, stored, launched, and reloaded in ways that demand minimal strain and spend from the end customer,” according to the company’s announcement. “Covenant has also built its own mission planning and command-and-control software, allowing for coordinated, mass launch.”

The company reported it has booked orders it estimated at $150 million to date, with more expected in the weeks ahead. It also has an “Other Transaction Agreement (OTA)” with the U.S. Army for an accelerated test and qualification program of the Anthem system; and a contract with the U.S. Navy’s Rapid Capabilities Office valued at roughly $70 million to adapt the system into a "Maritime Anthem" variant with export-acceleration features.