Lithuanian startup PDKinematics has raised a €2 million seed round to help the company scale manufacturing as it targets NATO countries with its precision guidance systems for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
Developing GNSS-Independent systems, allowing operators to fly up to 700 metres, the PDKinematics platform Gannet is a low-SWaP-C (size, weight, power, cost) platform-agnostic precision guided munition kit engineered for seamless integration with most standard multi-rotor UAV platforms.
At this stage PDKinematics manufactures empty munitions guidance kits. It provides the software for those munitions, and the firmware for all of the components provided. “We work with all the electro optics, we work with actuation systems and we work with inertial navigation systems,” said Rapolas Markevičius, PDKinematics CEO.
Already in use as a pilot on the front lines in Ukraine, PDKinematics has a strategic partnership with US-Ukrainian firm Bavovna.ai, its system is now integrated in Bavovna’s bomber-class UAV platforms.
The seed round was co-led by Coinvest Capital, Lithuania’s sovereign investment fund, and Iron Wolf Capital and includes angel funding.
“This is exactly the kind of company the Baltic defence ecosystem needs to be producing: deep technology, battle-validated, and with a clear path to NATO-scale deployment. We are proud to see a fellow defence-focused fund joining the round, and proud to back a team providing such an important contribution to Europe’s defence directly from Vilnius,” said Viktorija Trimbel, managing director of Coinvest Capital, co-founder and board member of Defence Angels European Network.
Resilience Media caught up with Markevičius just as he was about to embark on his final training assignment Junior Command Officers Training Programme. Markevičius signed up for the army reserves in Lithuania when Russia’s full scale invasion happened in Ukraine. The company was born out of a reaction to the war, too. He’s all in on defence.
Previously, he had worked in private equity but in 2022, he and aerospace engineer Simonas Stasevičius began developing precision-guided munitions for UAVs. Their other co-founder, Dominykas Rinkevičius, joined as head of engineering in 2025.
Currently the startup is involved in trials with companies in Italy. Markevičius said they will head back there next month for more testing during the Task Force X exercises with Italian UAV manufacturer SiraLab.
PDKinematics is also involved with the Lithuanian Military Academy, which tested the armoured piercing capabilities of its munitions.
Markevičius said the 500 grams of payload capacity for the warhead “can handle up to 30 or 40 millimetres of armoured steel penetration so this means that you can engage quite a diverse list of targets, light armoured vehicles, supply chains, logistics, some armoured personnel carriers, some tanks, but tanks are like a bit of a stretch at this stage. We have not yet tested that.”
“It’s usually the strategic level type of assets we work on — tactical and operational level,” he added.
When it comes to commercial contracts he says that beyond Lithuania, PDKinematics is focused on countries where they can get quick partnerships. “It’s not not a political issue, it’s just us trying to be quick and scaling.”
The company is currently scouting for talent in business development and engineering.
