The co-founders of the German defense AI firm Helsing announced on Dec. 2 that production of their HX-2 “Karma” kamikaze drone was now in full swing, with the first few hundred of almost 4,000 of the unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) earmarked for Ukraine, to be delivered this month. The total was included in a memorandum of cooperation signed between Ukraine’s Ministry of Industry and Trade and the company in February.
Germany’s Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said he had been “very pleased that the delivery of these drones equipped with artificial intelligence (AI) technology is already underway” according to the German news publication Bild.
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The electrically powered HX-2, with its x-shaped main wing and tail configuration with four electric motors in the tail section, weighs close to 12 kilograms (26.5 pounds), with suggestions a third or more of that would include its warhead. It has a top speed of almost 220 kph (137 mph), and a maximum range of 100 kilometers (62 miles), according to the company website. Helsing says the drones can be loaded with a variety of optimized warheads for use against armored vehicles, personnel or structures.
The product information states: “Onboard artificial intelligence ensures that HX-2 is immune to hostile electronic warfare (EW) measures through its ability to search for, re-identify, and engage targets, even without a signal or a continuous data connection, while allowing a human operator stays in or on the loop for all critical decisions.”
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While Helsing remains tight-lipped about the nature of the onboard sensor, navigation, and target acquisition systems carried on the HX-2, much can be gleaned from its physical appearance. The two small apertures visible in its nose are likely to be electro-optical and thermal imaging cameras, with a probable pitot airspeed measuring device off to one side.
The Helsing press release said that its Altra reconnaissance/strike software can be used to control multiple HX-2s assembled into swarms, controlled by a single human operator.
It says that the HX-2 has been designed for mass production at significantly lower unit cost than current equivalent conventional systems such as the US Switchblade or Russia’s Lancet, without providing a detailed cost breakdown.
Niklas Köhler, co-founder of Helsing, said: “With HX-2, we have created a new smart effector that combines mass, autonomy and precision. Individual HX-2s can reliably engage armored targets in highly contested environments. When deployed along borders at scale, HX-2 can serve as a powerful counter invasion shield against enemy land forces.”
Helsing’s other co-founder Gundbert Scherf, said: “NATO urgently requires technology to protect the integrity of the Eastern Flank. At Helsing, we’ve invested [in developing] this capability and [giving] NATO an edge through precision mass. HX-2 is providing autonomy through software and AI, while retaining full human control and oversight. Electronic warfare had threatened to erode the ability [of drones] to act, and we are giving this ability back to operators.”
Bild reported in mid-November that some earlier prototypes of the UAV have already been used on operations against Russian forces in eastern Ukraine with the lessons learnt during those operations being incorporated in the final production versions.
Helsing says the drone’s onboard software can be updated wirelessly “to dynamically adapt to new threats and tactics,” although it was not clear if this could be done during an attack operation.
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