Europe’s Helsing has unveiled a new precision-guided attack drone offering a range of up to 54nm (100km), with the design drawing on its experience gained while supporting the Ukrainian armed forces.
Described as a “smart effector”, the electric-powered HX-2 is “software-based, mass-producible, and swarm-capable”, its developer says. The company also claims that the munition has a “significantly lower unit cost than conventional systems”.
Unveiled on 2 December, the new x-wing design employs artificial intelligence technology to enable claimed “full electronic warfare and jamming resistance”. In operation, this enables the drone to “search for, re-identify and engage targets even without a signal or a continuous data connection”, the company says.
Helsing notes that this capability stems from development and testing conducted in Ukraine, including of the HX-2’s “core technology”.
The HX-2 weighs 12kg (26lb), has a maximum speed of 119kt (220km/h), and can be configured to carry either an anti-tank, anti-structure or multi-purpose warhead.
Swarming operations will be enabled by the use of Helsing’s AI-enabled Altra reconnaissance-strike software platform, the company says.
“Individual HX-2s can reliably engage armoured targets in highly contested environments,” says Helsing co-founder Niklas Koehler. “When deployed along borders at scale, HX-2 can serve as a powerful counter-invasion shield against enemy land forces.”
“NATO urgently requires technology to protect the integrity of the eastern flank [with Russia],” notes fellow co-founder Gundbert Scherf.
“HX-2 is providing autonomy through software and AI, while retaining full human control and oversight,” Scherf says. “Electronic warfare had threatened to erode the ability to act, and we are giving this ability back to operators.”
