Before the deputies, in October, the chief of staff of the Army [CEMAT]General Pierre Schill, had considered that it was not relevant to constitute “stocks” of drones and/or remotely operated munitions [MTO]unless you take the risk of ending up with obsolete devices, technological progress in this area being constant and rapid, thanks in particular to the contribution of artificial intelligence [IA].
Precisely, a specialist in this type of technology, the German group Helsing has just unveiled the HX-2, a new “intelligent attack drone”.
Featuring an X-shaped wing [ou cruciforme]this device is described as “precision ammunition”. Electrically powered, it has a range of 100 km and can fly at a maximum speed of 220 km/h. Thanks to on-board AI, it is completely “resilient” to jamming GPS signals and communications. Its performance, Helsing argues, was also “developed and tested” in Ukraine.
Another special feature of the HX-2 is that it can be combined with the Altra “reconnaissance/strike” system, also developed by Helsing. Thus, several devices can constitute an autonomous swarm, controlled by a single operator.
More precisely, Altra is software that allows you to control both ISR drones [renseignement, surveillance, reconnaissance] and remotely operated munitions like the HX-2, while potentially networking them with artillery and command and control systems [C2].
“Thanks to artificial intelligence, Altra makes it possible to combine precise and coordinated strikes with the acquisition of large-scale objectives,” summarizes Helsing.
So, for example, an ISR drone resilient to electronic jamming will detect targets then transmit their position to an operator on the ground once it leaves the area where the signals are disrupted. When the targets to be struck are confirmed, targeting information is communicated to one or more HX-2s, whose warhead can be anti-tank, general-purpose or anti-infrastructure. “Electronic warfare threatened to deprive operators of their ability to act, and we are giving it back to them,” argues Helsing.
Important point: the HX-2 was designed to be rapidly produced on a large scale and at a cost “significantly lower than that of conventional systems”. For the industrialist, it represents “a complementary offer to existing artillery systems”.
“With the HX-2, we are creating a new category of intelligent effectors that combine mass, autonomy and precision. A single HX-2 can reliably engage enemy armor, even in the most contested environments. Deployed in large numbers, the HX-2s represent an essential deterrent capability along threatened borders,” summarized Niklas Köhler, one of the co-founders of Helsing.
We will soon see if the sword will still be a step ahead of the armor given that Germany must deliver 4,000 HX-2s to Ukraine.
However, as Antoine de Braquilanges, the general director of Helsing France, pointed out, the AI of this attack drone must be “constantly updated”. And to add, according to comments reported by AFP: “It is a living object which must be re-trained, certified and then deployed on board the platforms as quickly as possible”.
