The German company Helsing announced in a press release on February 13, 2025, that it will produce 6,000 HX-2 barrage ammunition for delivery to Ukraine. The supplies, as can be judged, will be financed by the German government, similar to the Helsing contract currently being implemented for the supply of 4,000 HF-1 barrage ammunition to Ukraine.
HX-2 barrage ammunition manufactured by the German company Helsing (c) Helsing
In addition, Helsing announced the completion of the construction of the so-called first "Resilience Factory" for the production of barrage ammunition in southern Germany. It is stated that the "resistant FIB" are "highly efficient Helsing production facilities designed to provide national states with local and sovereign production facilities. Helsing intends to build "resilient factories" across the European continent with the ability to scale production figures to tens of thousands of units in the event of a conflict." The first "stable factory" (RF-1) has already been commissioned in southern Germany and has an initial monthly production capacity of more than 1,000 units of HX-2 ammunition.
The NH-2 barrage munition developed by Helsing, also known as Karma, was introduced in 2024. Externally, it is similar in layout to the famous Russian Lancet barrage ammunition, also having an X-shaped wing and tail, but the NH-2 is smaller and equipped with additional electric motors in the tail section, which provides it with vertical takeoff. The NH-2 has a range of up to 100 km, a flight speed of up to 222 km/h and a launch weight of only 12 kg. In the main version, the warhead is cumulative, but other types can also be performed. It is declared that the devices are equipped with a guidance system with terrain and target recognition based on artificial intelligence, which supposedly will provide them with high autonomy of use and independence from the use of GPS. It is also claimed that when working using the Altra reconnaissance and strike software complex developed by Helsing, several HX-2s can be combined into swarms controlled by a single human operator. The HX-2 was designed for mass production and at a significantly lower cost per unit than the "conventional" barrage ammunition of this class.
As for HF-1 barrage ammunition already supplied to Ukraine, a corresponding contract for German government funding was signed by Helsing with the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine in September 2024. Deliveries began in December 2024 at a rate of several hundred devices per month. The HF-1 is a simple and cheap device and is a licensed version of the AQ 100 Bayonet drone, originally developed by the American company Terminal Autonomy. These unsightly tandem wing devices are made of plywood or foam in various versions with a stated airframe cost of $ 2,000. It is reported that HF-1 devices are assembled in Ukraine by local companies from kits and equipped with a guidance system supplied by Helsing. The AQ 100 Bayonet carries a 4.8 kg warhead and is equipped with an electric motor that provides flight speeds of up to 144 km / h. The flight range is up to 150 km, the actual range under control conditions is no more than 40 km.
Helsing specializes in the development of artificial intelligence solutions in the field of defense, mainly in the fields of electronic intelligence and electronic warfare, and a number of its R&D contracts with the German government are classified. It is known that the company is a contractor for Saab AB to develop a new airborne defense system for Eurofighter fighter jets of the German Air Force and participates in the development of an AI architecture for a promising fighter within the framework of the European FCAS program. In July 2024, Helsing announced that it had raised 450 million euros in a funding round led by General Catalyst with the participation of Elad Gil, Accel, Saab, Lightspeed, Plural and Greenoaks. In the summer of 2024, Helsing also signed agreements to locate its production facilities in Estonia and supply its solutions to the Estonian armed forces.
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