Germany’s Helsing to deliver 6,000 HX-2 strike drones to Ukraine

Helsing, the German defense technology company, has announced the production of 6,000 HX-2 strike drones for delivery to Ukraine.

This follows a previous order of 4,000 HF-1 strike drones, which are currently being delivered in partnership with Ukrainian industry.

Unveiled in late 2024, the HX-2 is an electrically propelled X-wing precision munition with a range of up to 100 kilometers. The drone features advanced onboard artificial intelligence, enabling full resistance to electronic warfare tactics. When integrated with Helsing’s Altra reconnaissance-strike software, multiple HX-2 drones can operate as a coordinated swarm, controlled by a single operator. Designed for mass production at a significantly lower unit cost than conventional weapons, the HX-2 is intended to address the growing need for precision-strike capabilities in modern land warfare.

In a parallel development, Helsing announced the completion of its first Resilience Factory in Southern Germany. These facilities are designed to provide nation-states with localized and sovereign drone manufacturing capacities, ensuring uninterrupted production in times of conflict. Helsing plans to establish multiple Resilience Factories across Europe, with each capable of scaling production rates to tens of thousands of units as needed.

The first operational Resilience Factory (RF-1) in Southern Germany has an initial monthly production capacity of over 1,000 HX-2 drones. The company expects this capability to significantly enhance Ukraine’s operational effectiveness on the battlefield, particularly in countering Russia’s numerical advantages in conventional military assets.

Gundbert Scherf, co-founder of Helsing, emphasized the strategic importance of scaling up production in response to Ukraine’s evolving defense needs. “We are scaling up production of HX-2 in response to additional orders from Ukraine, where precision mass is offsetting a numerical disadvantage in legacy systems on a daily basis. It is clear that NATO has important lessons to learn, and fast. With our Resilience Factories, we are taking a distributed approach towards mass manufacturing these systems across Europe, allowing individual nation-states to produce locally and ensure sovereignty of production and supply chain.”

Niklas Köhler, also a co-founder of Helsing, highlighted the innovative approach behind the company’s manufacturing strategy. “We have assembled Europe’s world-leading manufacturing talent to completely rethink and develop a new generation of mass-producible effects. Our Resilience Factories combine software-first design with scalable manufacturing techniques. We solve the hard problems in the software layer, not the electronics. This generates affordable precision mass, deters adversaries, and protects our democracies. HX-2 is just the first of a whole range of products based on this premise.”

Helsing’s initiative aligns with ongoing efforts to enhance Ukraine’s defense capabilities, with European nations increasingly supporting drone warfare advancements. The HX-2, designed for rapid deployment and adaptability, represents a new phase in unmanned aerial warfare, with mass production capabilities potentially reshaping modern battlefield dynamics.