Procurement Continues After a (Mostly) Successful Trial With the Helsing HX-2

Germany’s armed forces are moving ahead with what is shaping up to be a more than billion-dollar order of AI-enabled strike drones after a series of trials delivered hit probabilities north of 90 percent. If previous rumors prove true, this marks a stark contrast from earlier trials, which came back with performance numbers as low as 30 percent.

The more recent round of tests was run at the Bundeswehr’s Altmark training grounds and supervised by the service’s planning office. Over 10 companies, including German drone manufacturers Helsing and Stark Defence, were involved in the effort.

Following the recent trend of kamikaze-style swarm attacks, all drones in the trial were unarmed. Footage released by the military showed machine-vision guidance steering them into truck-sized targets to showcase the AI-assisted impact capabilities Germany has been publicly cautious to discuss until now.

Central to the experiment was the Bundeswehr’s Command & Control Unmanned Management System: a software architecture that blends various drone platforms, munitions, and control suites into one operational picture. According to the army, the successful integration provides “practical evidence” that loitering munitions can be an effective combat strategy.

The evidence in question was a hit rate that reportedly exceeded 90 percent. The claim counters earlier leaked reports portraying inconsistent performance…specifically, allegations that some systems achieved as little as 30 percent effectiveness at an October comparison trial in Munster.

The Bundeswehr had previously avoided commenting on those leaks, citing security concerns. However, the latest developments mean that the force has had no problem sharing reports and even footage of Helsing’s HX-2 and Stark’s Virtus system scoring direct hits.

Despite the seemingly inconsistent outcomes, the Bundeswehr says the results are promising enough to begin the procurement process. And this is a decision they can’t take lightly: Ukrainian media reports that the bill sits at nearly $1.04 billion.

FMI: https://helsing.ai