Helsing

When we founded Helsing in 2021, we believed that AI would become the defining technology in defence. That moment has now come. For us, the tipping point was when our Centaur AI pilot started to beat experienced, active fighter pilots in air combat. We witnessed something no one had seen before. Future became reality. Our progress in AI gave us the conviction to double down on hardware, most notably by building an autonomous fighter jet, CA-1 Europa. It is designed around Centaur. As we roll out AI capabilities across our platforms, we're noticing that the models converge. Initially disparate solutions are becoming more and more similar in architecture and training, and more powerful as a result. These new models enable the deployment of powerful platforms, in large numbers as autonomous mass: swarms of fighter jets, drones or submarines operated by AI, and ultimately controlled by humans. We are moving from manually teleoperated systems in the war Russia wages against Ukraine to AI-defined capabilities in NATO. We're entering the age of Military AI. We predict that Military AI will be the dominating trend in defence from now on. The demise of crewed systems will be faster than anticipated as we cannot afford to waste the lives of young men and women on a battlefield infested by drones. When the average survival time at the front line is 20-30 minutes it will be increasingly unethical to send humans, be it on foot, in a tank or in a fighter jet. As we roll out Military AI, we must be aware of our ethical responsibility. AI models will soon surpass humans at target identification and prioritisation, just as they already are better fighter pilots. What is the role of humans in these new dynamics? We believe we need to retain ultimate control, both by being on the loop, and where necessary diving into specific decisions, even split-second ones. We commit to developing the necessary tools and technologies. Europe is leading the world in Military AI. And Helsing will lead from the front.

The CA-1 Europa is taking shape. In Bavaria, inside a manufacturing facility with its own airfield, our team at Helsing and Grob Aircraft is building the first autonomous combat aircraft designed and produced in Germany, for Europe. We announced CA-1 in September 2025 and our partnership with HENSOLDT in February 2026. The program is on schedule. Maiden flight comes next year. Today we’re showing you the initial construction phase: the wings. You can watch the full video on YouTube; link in comments. Stay tuned for more updates in the coming months.

Defending democracy is not easy. It’s hard. That is why we rely on the skill of people who thrive under pressure, engineering the technology that will decide the next generation of conflict.    Helsing is hiring. If you think you have what it takes, apply.    Browse our open positions via the link in the comments. 

Helsing's HX-2 AI-strike drone has ranked first in stage 1 of the European Defence Agency's Sentinel Strike Challenge. This follows a competitive assessment of more than 140 expressions of interest. In the next stage, Helsing will take HX-2 to the Santa Margarida military training area in Portugal, where it will be tested, as one of five finalists, during the EU OPEX26 operational experimentation campaign. Military users from EU Member States will assess how the system performs under controlled, realistic and contested conditions, across the full mission cycle. The purpose of the Sentinel Strike Challenge is to generate evidence that defence ministries can use when deciding which technologies could contribute to future capabilities. 

The close partnership between HENSOLDT and Helsing on the development of the CA-1 Europa is progressing rapidly, with several key milestones already reached. Manufacturing of the V-tail empennage is complete, the main components of the wings have been produced, the fuselage moulds are finished, and the engines are ready to be fitted. Last week, Oliver Dörre, CEO of Hensoldt, and Stephanie Lingemann, Vice President Air at Helsing, briefed German Minister of Defence Boris Pistorius on progress. And today, Hensoldt has announced that its new missile warning system, CAIRAS, will be integrated on board the CA-1 Europa. CAIRAS is an infrared reconnaissance and alert system that strengthens the self-protection capability of the unmanned combat aircraft. 

Helsing welcomes Andriy Shevchenko as Managing Director for Ukraine.  Andriy is Ukraine's former Ambassador to Canada and Deputy Minister of Defence. He will lead Helsing's growing team in Ukraine as the company scales its operations in the country.  Helsing has been active in Ukraine since 2022. Thousands of HX-2s, Helsing's AI-enabled strike drone, have been deployed to the Armed Forces of Ukraine in 2026 alone.

Helsing is expanding its U.S. presence and has selected the State of West Virginia as the site of our first U.S. Resilience Factory.  The new factory will build our software-defined loitering munition HX-2. Thousands of HX-2s are currently deployed on the battlefield in Ukraine. The drone has recently been successfully tested by the U.S. Army in the exercise “Flytrap” in Lithuania.  Through this expansion, we aim to strengthen America’s defence industrial capacity, create high skilled jobs, and deepen cooperation between Europe and the U.S. while ensuring that European defence AI has a seat at the table in the world's most consequential defence market.  Thank you to West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey and everyone in the state of West Virginia who made this milestone possible.

Helsing, Europe's leading defence AI company, today announces it has raised $1.8bn in a Series E, valuing the company at US$18bn. New and existing investors participated in the round, including Dragoneer Investment Group, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Disruptive, ICONIQ, Growth Equity at Goldman Sachs Alternatives, JPMorganChase, CPP Investments | Investissements RPC, General Catalyst, Plural, and StepStone Group. Investor demand significantly exceeded the available allocation, reflecting strong and growing confidence in AI-driven and software-defined defence technology. The company remains predominantly European-owned, underscoring its deep roots in Europe. The Board of Helsing remains unchanged with Co-Chairmen Daniel Ek and Tom Enders, and members Jeannette zu Fürstenberg and Denis Mercier, alongside the company's founders. This latest investment will accelerate Helsing's mission to develop and integrate entirely new AI platforms into the defence capabilities of its growing number of partner nations. Helsing's existing investors include Prima Materia, Accel, and Greenoaks.

As Helsing scales, we need engineers who can both write complex code and troubleshoot live in the field. That’s why we have just hosted a two-day field trial at our Grob Aircraft airfield in Bavaria for the Formula Student international competition.   During the first Helsing Engineering Airfield Takedown (HEAT), we brought together several Formula Student teams including three backed by Helsing: AMZ Racing, TUfast e.V. Racing Team, and KA-RaceIng e.V. Working against the clock, the teams repeatedly stripped down and rebuilt their autonomous racing cars between races. This required the students to address the kinds of engineering challenges we see every day in building modern defence technology. We call it deployed engineering, and it is some of the hardest and most important work we do. Events like HEAT help us find the next generation of top European talent. We are expanding our deployed engineering teams. Keep an eye on our jobs page, and read more about HEAT on our blog. Links below in comments. 

At ILA Berlin - Pioneering Aerospace, Chancellor Friedrich Merz visited Helsing and learned about the CA-1 Europa platform. Dr. Gundbert Scherf presented not only the full-size design study of the aircraft but also the first wing – currently under construction in our production facility – as well as the platform's newest addition, the CA-1 Electronic Attack, which will protect attacking swarms of aircraft from ground-based air defence systems.      We also welcomed State Secretaries Nils Hilmer and Jens Ploetner the chairmen of the budget committee in the Bundestag, Andreas Mattfeldt and Andreas Schwarz, Vice-Admiral Carsten Stawitzki, Flotilla Admiral Christian Bock, Bavarian State Minister Florian Herrmann, and a large number of interested officers, friends, partners and customers – both at our exhibition stand and at our Fly-In Dinner at the Humboldt Forum. Thank you to all our guests; we are already looking forward to the next ILA.