European defence technology company Helsing is increasing its production of the HX-2 strike software-defined, mass-producible strike drones to meet the growing demand from Ukraine.
The production scale up follows additional orders and comes on the heels of an ongoing delivery of 4000 HF-1 strike drones, produced in collaboration with Ukrainian industry partners.
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Germany is funding the delivery of HF-1s to the front lines, with the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence overseeing the contract.
The HX-2, which was unveiled in late 2024, is an electric-powered precision munition with an X-wing design and a range of up to 100 km.
It features onboard AI which is designed to withstand electronic warfare.
When integrated with Helsing’s Altra reconnaissance-strike software, the HX-2 drones can form swarms that are managed by a single human operator.
The Altra platform allows for the coordination of multiple HX-2 systems with intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance assets, artillery systems, and battlefield management software.
This creates a scalable and potent system of systems capable of targeting artillery, armoured units, and other military objectives at beyond-line-of-sight distances.
Helsing co-founder Gundbert Scherf said: “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.”
In addition, Helsing has completed its first Resilience Factory in Southern Germany.
These production facilities are designed to equip nation states with the capability to manufacture locally and maintain sovereign production capacities.
The inaugural Resilience Factory, designated RF-1, is already operational and has an initial monthly production capacity exceeding 1,000 HX-2 units.
Helsing plans to establish additional Resilience Factories across Europe, with the potential to ramp up production to tens of thousands of units in response to conflict situations.
Helsing co-founder Niklas Köhler said: “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.”
