Helsing

Today, we are unveiling Area 9 – Helsing's advanced research division.  Headed by our Chief Scientist, Antoine Bordes, Area 9 pushes the boundaries of what is possible and turns advanced research into real capabilities. Area 9's history started with the development of Centaur, the super-human AI fighter pilot, which has since graduated to become part of Helsing's core technology. Based on an RL-trained neural network, Centaur has been deployed in air combat scenarios on the Saab Gripen above the Baltic Sea. It is also powering Helsing's upcoming autonomous fighter jet CA-1 Europa.  "Area 9's mandate is to identify and pursue research opportunities that create outsized capability gains", said Antoine Bordes. "Our goal is always to deploy, and combine frontier research with in-the-field iteration." Stay tuned for what's coming next later this week. Technological superiority is not optional. It is what keeps democracies safe. 

Today, Helsing and OHB SE announce KIRK – a new joint venture to develop a space-based tactical surveillance, reconnaissance, and targeting system, closing a critical capability gap in European space security. At the same time, OHB joins the space consortium that Helsing, KONGSBERG Defence & Aerospace and HENSOLDT established in December 2025, with Helsing and OHB taking on joint leadership of the alliance. The consortium's goal is to radically reduce the time between space-based data collection and target engagement. Helsing’s battle-proven AI will run directly on the satellites, fusing data from multiple sensor types in orbit. The satellites are software-defined and can be updated at any time to respond dynamically to new threats. KIRK is a German acronym for “Künstliche Intelligenz und Raumfahrt-Kompetenz” which translates to “Artificial Intelligence and Space Competence.” Read more in the Financial Times or in Handelsblatt – links in the comment below. 

First launch of the HX-2 from a coastal vessel. The trial took place off a fast insertion craft in the littorals off Plymouth, Helsing’s maritime home.  We are moving fast to further extend the operational capabilities of the HX-2, building on our experience on the battlefield in Ukraine. More to come soon. 

On Monday evening Helsing welcomed Sweden’s Minister for Defence, Pål Jonson, the Ukrainian President’s Special Adviser, Alexander Kamyshin, and the German Ambassador to Sweden, Ludger Siemes, alongside senior leaders from the Swedish armed forces and the defence community, to open its presence in Stockholm.    “Helsing – you are no strangers to Sweden”, said Pål Jonson acknowledging Helsing’s years of active engagement in the country. Under contract from Sweden's Defence Materiel Administration (FMV), Helsing’s AI agent Centaur flew aboard a Gripen E fighter jet over the Baltic Sea – the first publicly known instance of AI piloting a fully operational fighter jet.  The new hub marks a deepening of Helsing's commitment to sovereign defence capability-building from the Baltic Sea region to the Arctic.  At the opening event, Jonson and Kamyshin together with General (ret.) Sir James Everard, former NATO Deputy Supreme Allied Commander, and Helsing’s Dr. Gundbert Scherf discussed how Sweden and Germany could deter threats more effectively and better protect themselves. “Helsing is doing great work in Ukraine and in Germany and will be doing great work in Sweden – I’m sure about that”, said Kamyshin. 

Two of the most consequential sectors of our time, defence and technology, are not making full use of half the world's talent. We intend to change that. This spring, we are launching “Women in AI”: a series of evenings for practitioners, researchers, and leaders working in AI across Europe. We begin in Paris on 23 April, with a keynote from Nathalie Salles-Olivier, whose research focuses on systemic barriers to women in AI, and a panel featuring Morgane Rivière (Research Engineer at Mistral AI), Charlotte Caucheteux (Research Scientist at Google DeepMind), Jade Copet (Research Engineering Manager at Meta), and Emilie W. (AI Research Engineer at Helsing). Events in Munich and London will follow. Places are limited.  Register for the Paris evening (23 April, 6-9pm): https://lnkd.in/eVAVmp9r

NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Transformation (SACT), Admiral Pierre VANDIER, visited Helsing's Resilience Factory in Southern Germany. The factory uses local supply chains to deliver sovereign production capacity for Ukraine and increasingly NATO nations. With thousands of systems procured for Germany’s Brigade Lithuania and other allies following suit, HX-2 is rapidly becoming a cornerstone capability for NATO’s forward defence. Tested across European environments and proven on the battlefield in Ukraine, HX-2 and Helsing’s recce-strike software platform Altra together represent a new standard: software-defined, AI-driven, interoperable, and built for the realities of modern high-intensity conflict. Admiral Vandier and Helsing's Co-Founder and Co-CEO Dr. Gundbert Scherf met the team producing HX-2 systems bound mostly for the frontline in Ukraine and the German army – a production line that has scaled to more than 1,000 units per month. By absorbing hardware complexity into software, HX-2 can be produced at volumes unprecedented for modern autonomous strike drones.

Professor Richard Davies, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Plymouth, and Helsing’s UK Managing Director Ned Baker have signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the University of Plymouth at the Oceanology International forum to develop the talent that will make the UK a global leader in maritime autonomy. This partnership builds on our long term commitment to Plymouth right at the heart of maritime defence, where we have opened our first UK Resilience Factory. Together with the University, one of the leading global academic institutions in the maritime sector, we’ll be collaborating on research and testing facilities, shaping curricula and courses to be job-ready, and co-developing apprenticeship and hiring schemes.

With the threat to underwater infrastructure increasing, last week we were testing our SG-1 Fathom underwater glider in the Baltic Sea.  Following trials over the last year across the UK and Australia, SG-1 is building on real-world data to continuously improve, providing the capabilities allied navies urgently need.  SG-1, with Helsing's Lura AI platform, gives a single operator the ability to plan, manage and analyse a swarm of autonomous gliders, detecting and classifying subsurface threats at the edge, even in environments where bandwidth is most constrained. 

Our second German resilience factory is now live, producing 1000 HX-2s every month, with the ability to add another 400-600 drones per month. The factory was designed to scale whilst rapidly accommodating design changes based on battlefield feedback. The factory's design and operation is being led by Dr. Michael Schwekutsch, Helsing's EVP Physical Products, who previously scaled production at Tesla. Michael's team is applying automotive-grade quality tools – digital factory twins, full component traceability, EN9100 certification – to ensure every system shipped meets the standards required for contested environments. For more details check out a recent German story from WirtschaftsWoche, link in comments.

HX-2s ready to go out for delivery. This is the Helsing factory output of half a week.