Moscow's electronic warfare capabilities penalize Ukrainian air action. Faced with the problem, kyiv turned to a European company, Helsing.
A Ukrainian drone operator, in October 2024, in the Donetsk region (illustration) (AFP / GENYA SAVILOV)
Helsing, a young European company specializing in defense artificial intelligence (AI), is providing Ukraine with AI software to equip 4,000 attack drones so that they can overcome Russian jamming, and will produce its own low-cost drone powered by AI, the company announced Monday, December 2.
Present in Ukraine for two years, Helsing concluded a contract with the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, the existence of which was revealed in mid-November by German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius.
These 4,000 drones will be delivered “between the end of the year and spring 2025”, indicated the general director of Helsing France, Antoine de Braquilanges. With this AI provided by the group,
drones can navigate, detect and strike targets “in a context of widespread jamming”,
he explained to a few journalists.
At the beginning of 2024, Ukrainian officials had mentioned a monthly need of 100,000 to 120,000 drones of all types. Many of them are rendered inoperable by Russia's powerful electronic warfare capabilities. At the same time, Helsing has developed its own attack drone, the HX-2, a cruciform device with a range of 100 km and equipped with an explosive charge.
Algorithms enter the battlefield
A reconnaissance drone equipped with this AI algorithm
detects targets despite GPS signal jamming then transmits the information to a ground operator when communications work again,
after leaving the jamming zone. An operator then validates or not the objectives highlighted and sends the information to the HX-2 drone, which goes to the area in question to find the target validated by the operator and strike it despite the jamming of its positioning and communications. .
Faced with “constantly evolving military capabilities” on the Ukrainian front,
“with innovation cycles of 3, 4 weeks”, the AI algorithm must be constantly updated.
“It is a living object which must be re-trained, certified and then deployed on board the platforms as quickly as possible,” underlined Antoine de Braquilanges.
Helsing plans to produce in a factory in Europe “up to several thousand” HX-2 drones per month, for a unit cost close to that of the Russian Lancet prowling munition, “which is estimated to be around $35-40,000 each. “, he assessed. He did not specify where the factory was located. In addition to Ukraine, Helsing is present in Germany, France, the United Kingdom and Estonia.
As European countries seek to increase and accelerate arms production, Helsing says he has “fairly advanced discussions with many European countries.”
