A German company has supplied Ukraine with nearly 2,000 HF-1 kamikaze drones equipped with artificial intelligence (AI), developed in cooperation with a Ukrainian manufacturer.

Source: Ukrinform news agency, citing Simon Brünjes, the company’s representative responsible for drone operations in Ukraine, as reported by European Pravda

Details: The German company Helsing has delivered 1,950 AI-powered HF-1 kamikaze drones to Ukraine, developed jointly with the Ukrainian manufacturer Terminal Autonomy. The company is now testing a new loitering munition, the HX-2, in Ukraine. The HX-2 has enhanced specifications and is entirely produced by Helsing.

Brünjes said the company is expected to supply another 2,050 drones to Ukraine.

The HF-1 drones are currently in service with several Ukrainian units and have proven effective in combat.

"The system has this capability: once it locks onto a target, it remains fixed on it despite all countermeasures by the enemy in the electromagnetic spectrum," Brünjes explained.

The same software has also been implemented in the HX-2, an attack drone featuring a dual X-shaped wing design, entirely developed in-house by Helsing.

Brünjes noted that there are areas on the Ukrainian front where GPS signals or radio communication at the operating frequency are jammed or completely lost. However, the HX-2 does not fail in such conditions – it returns to the last point where contact was available, enabling the operator to reassess the situation, change the task, choose another sector or assign a new mission.

Background: 

• On 14 January, Germany delivered a military aid package to Ukraine that included 600 HF-1 attack drones.
• In February, Helsing announced it would produce 6,000 AI-guided HX-2 attack drones for delivery to Ukraine.

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