Latvia wants to hit targets far beyond its borders, and it has picked the weapon. On 25 September, President Edgars Rinkēvičs visited Anduril Industries in California, met founder Palmer Luckey, and said he was looking forward to completing the acquisition of Barracuda long-range missiles.
For a country of under two million people on NATO's eastern edge, that is a significant step. The largest Barracuda variant, the Barracuda-500M, flies more than 500 nautical miles, roughly three times the reach of the ATACMS missiles Latvia has ordered for its HIMARS launchers.
Informazioni rapide
- Acquirente: Latvia
- Arma: Anduril Barracuda family of low-cost cruise missiles; variant not yet announced
- Annunciato: 25 September 2026, by President Edgars Rinkēvičs on X after visiting Anduril
- Barracuda-500M range: More than 500 nautical miles (about 926 km)
- Launch options: Air-launched (AGM-189A) and surface-launched versions, according to TWZ
- Current long-range weapon: ATACMS for HIMARS, range around 300 km
- Also signed: Memoranda of cooperation between Latvia's Ministry of Defence and Latvian drone maker Origin Robotics
What Rinkēvičs Announced
The announcement came in a post on X after the president's visit to Anduril. He also witnessed the signing of cooperation memoranda between Latvia's Ministry of Defence and Origin Robotics, a Latvian company that builds drones and counter-drone systems.
The post left a lot open. There is no quantity, no price, no delivery date and no confirmation of which Barracuda version Latvia will buy. According to Defence Blog, terms are still being negotiated.
The Barracuda Family
Anduril designed the Barracuda as a cheaper, mass-producible cruise missile. The Barracuda-500M is the long-range member of the family. TWZ reports that it has air-launched and surface-launched versions, the former designated AGM-189A. Launch options across the family include fighters, helicopters, cargo aircraft, ships and ground launchers; Brazil's Embraer has even proposed firing it from a C-390's cargo ramp.
Latvia has no fighter jets and a small helicopter fleet, so TWZ expects it to choose a ground-launched version. Poland is already further along: TWZ notes that Warsaw signed an agreement with Anduril in July 2026 to assemble Barracuda-500Ms in Bydgoszcz.
Anduril's introduction of the Barracuda-M family of cruise missiles.
Why Range Matters for the Baltics
Latvia's longest-range weapon so far is the ATACMS ballistic missile, ordered for its M142 HIMARS launchers, with a range of around 300 km. A Barracuda-500M would roughly triple that, putting airfields, logistics hubs and command posts deep inside Russia and Belarus within reach from Latvian soil.
For NATO's smallest members, long-range strike is about deterrence by punishment: making it clear that an attack would put targets far behind the front at risk. Low-cost cruise missiles like the Barracuda make that affordable in numbers that a small defence budget could never buy with traditional missiles.
Sources: Edgars Rinkēvičs on X, TWZ, Defence Blog, Anduril Industries
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