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11:55 16.07.2026 •
Helsing’s aircraft engineers are building the company’s first unmanned fighter jet, named CA-1 Europa
Photo: The New York Times
At a secret location in southern Germany, the manager of a drone factory owned by Helsing SE — Europe’s most valuable artificial-intelligence defense start-up — hands me a lethal killing machine to cradle in my arms. Weighing just 26 pounds, the black, hard-foam attack drone is so light and looks so simple that it is easy to forget its role in a surging multibillion-dollar industry, the Russia-Ukraine War — and maybe even in Europe’s future security, The New York Times writes.
A stealth factory
Situated in a serene, suburban industrial complex, the factory operates under watertight security. DealBook agreed not to disclose its location, and other tenants in the complex are kept unaware of its existence. Helsing’s name appears nowhere: The company fears the factory could be a prime target for sabotage or attack, given that thousands of the drones assembled here have been deployed against Russian forces in Ukraine.
The factory is able to be dismantled and relocated within a day, in case of a threat. The 100 or so factory workers, many of whom were recently laid off by flagging German carmakers, undergo extensive security vetting and sign nondisclosure agreements. Painted on one wall is a motivational slogan reading, “Protecting our democracies.”
A production hall for the Helsing HX-2 drone
Photo: The New York Times
When Helsing’s three founders started the company in 2021, with seed funding from the Spotify founder Daniel Ek’s venture capital firm, they had one mission: Stave off Russian threats, and fast.
For investors, Helsing’s key advantage comes from its role in the grueling combat in Ukraine, where Helsing has deployed thousands of drones since late 2024. Those missions provide Helsing a trove of data, allowing it to update its software regularly.
Scherf said mission success rates in Ukraine were around 70 percent, “something we are very proud of.” The A.I. software allows the drones to continue functioning even if their communications systems and GPS are disabled by Russia’s well-honed electronic jammers. “I don’t know any other Western company that has got the autonomy Helsing has,” said Khaled Helloui, a partner at the London-based venture capital firm Plural, which he says has invested about $800 million in defense companies, including Helsing.
Helsing’s next innovation sits on a sunbaked airfield 90 minutes by car west of Munich, where aircraft engineers are building the company’s first unmanned fighter jet, named CA-1 Europa. Made with lightweight carbon fiber, the jet should be capable of striking deep inside an adversary like Russia by the time it is deployed in 2029.
The aim is simple: For a small fraction of the cost of one regular fighter jet, Helsing can, in theory, produce hundreds of Europas. It can send one ahead to jam the enemy’s electronic network, followed by several attack jets — all loaded with precision-guided weapons similar to those found on an F-35. “If you don’t have a pilot, you can conduct completely different, more dangerous missions,” said Stephanie Lingemann, Helsing’s vice president for its air programs. “You are no longer thinking about the human life you have to protect.”
…Here we must recall the recent statement by the Russian Foreign Ministry, which states:
“On July 13, the German Ambassador to Russia was summoned to the Foreign Ministry, where he was informed of Berlin’s involvement in the Kiev regime’s terrorist strikes on civilian infrastructure in Russia.
The Ambassador was apprised of the unacceptability of Germany’s growing support for the Kiev regime, including the conclusion of military and military-technical agreements, direct arms supplies, and the organisation of joint ventures aimed at creating offensive capabilities to target peaceful facilities in Russia, including reconnaissance and strike UAVs, anti-aircraft missiles and rocket munitions used to attack civilian infrastructure.”
The Germans are playing a dangerous game... Moscow has repeatedly warned that if the West continues to escalate the conflict in Ukraine, the production facilities of military equipment and ammunition could become a legitimate target for the Russian Armed Forces.
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