Helsing defence company: Scale and innovation of drone production in Ukraine are impressive

This was stated by Gundbert Scherf, co-founder and co-CEO of Helsing, a tech company in the security and defence sector, in a comment to Ukrinform’s correspondent.

“When we arrived (and I spent a lot of time there), we saw that Ukraine really has great potential in the field of drone production and is also very quickly improving specific designs. At first, this was more about FPV drones, but now it is spreading to long-range systems,” Scherf commented on drone production in Ukraine.

According to him, the scale and innovation embodied in Ukraine by hundreds of initiatives in the private sector are simply impressive.

“And I think it’s really impressive how large-scale this is in Ukraine, how innovative it is. Especially considering that there are no two state enterprises in Ukraine that would do all this. Ukrainians are implementing this through hundreds of initiatives in the private sector, and somehow they manage to effectively use such a diverse ecosystem,” Scherf noted.

He also expressed hope that if Helsing manages to deploy thousands of its HX-2 medium-range loitering munitions in Ukraine, which demonstrate resistance to electronic warfare thanks to the artificial intelligence used in them, this will impact on the situation on the battlefield.

“I believe that when we launch thousands of such systems — truly on the scale we are counting on — then, I hope, it will be clear that it really matters,” added the co-founder of a defense startup in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) and software for defense technologies, which has raised about €1.3 billion in investments over four years.

During a media day in Munich organized by Helsing, a Ukrinform correspondent also asked Helsing’s management how they assess their partnership with Ukraine and the prospects for its development.

“First of all, it is important to say that Ukraine is certainly of great importance. It has been a crucial factor in the formation of our company. The war in Ukraine began when we were less than a year old. That means that three-quarters of the company’s journey has been focused on what is happening there,” Scherf replied.

According to him, Helsing has “long-term commitments” to Ukraine.

“We believe that we have long-term commitments to Ukraine. This is not a one-time demonstration project, after which we will move on and focus on something else. Ukraine is part of our company. It is at its core,” Scherf emphasized.

For more details, read the article on combat AI from Europe on the Ukrinform website.

As reported by Ukrinform, Helsing has already delivered 1,950 AI-equipped HF-1 loitering munitions to Ukraine, created in cooperation with a Ukrainian manufacturer, and is currently testing the HX-2 loitering munition with improved characteristics, which is now entirely manufactured domestically.

Photo: Helsing