DEPLOYDatabase

Deployment

HX-2 (and HF-1) at Ukraine (combat zones)

Helsing, founded in March 2021 in Munich by Torsten Reil, Gundbert Scherf, and Niklas Koehler and chaired by Spotify's Daniel Ek, began as a European defense-artificial-intelligence software company building battlefield ISR fusion, the Altra strike-reconnaissance system, and the Centaur air-combat agent flown in a June 2025 Gripen E trial, and has since moved into strike-drone hardware. Its HX-2 is an electric X-wing precision strike munition with roughly 100 kilometers of range, about 250 kilometers per hour, and up to 5 kilograms of payload, with onboard AI for electronic-warfare resistance, built at the company's southern-Germany Resilience Factory at a stated capacity of more than a thousand per month, while its HF-1 is a plywood-fuselage AI loitering munition with GPS-independent navigation manufactured together with Ukrainian industry.

Helsing has raised to a 12-billion-euro valuation through a 600-million-euro Series D in June 2025, roughly 1.37 billion euro in total. The registry records its drone line at production maturity: a German-underwritten 4,000-unit HF-1 order with 1,950 units delivered to Ukraine provides the verified fielding anchor, alongside a 6,000-unit HX-2 order announced in February 2025 and an operational serial-production factory, though the separate air-combat software side such as Centaur remains at trial stage and should not halo the whole company.

On AI substance the GPS-independent navigation and electronic-warfare resistance are credible and battlefield-relevant, corroborated by Ukrainian reporting of HF-1 use, but claims of full electronic-warfare immunity are largely company-attested with thin independent validation, and a reported 18-billion-dollar 2026 round, full delivery against the HX-2 order, and sustained thousand-per-month throughput are recorded as claimed but not verified.

HX-2 (and HF-1) by Helsing · Operated by Helsing · Catalog entry · 3 sources · not yet field-verified · Drones


Machine-readable surfaces

On 18 November 2024, German Minister of Defence Boris Pistorius confirmed that Germany had committed 4,000 Helsing HF-1 loitering munitions to Ukraine. The HF-1 is an AI-guided strike drone made partly from plywood, produced in partnership with Ukrainian industry to reduce supply-chain vulnerability. By early 2025 approximately 1,000-1,950 had been delivered; Ukrainian Special Operations Forces (SOF) used them operationally for strike missions.

The Helsing official February 2025 announcement describes the HF-1 as a "previous order" already underway, distinct from the new HX-2 contract. Note: Ukraine subsequently halted further HX-2 orders (the next-generation electrically propelled variant) over reported operational issues; this deployment record covers the HF-1 programme only.

Key facts

Drone type
Helsing HF-1 loitering munition (AI-guided, partly plywood, ~100 km range)
Order size
4,000 HF-1 units confirmed by German MoD, November 2024
Delivery status
~1,000-1,950 delivered by early 2025; production co-located with Ukrainian industry
Operator
Ukrainian Special Operations Forces (primary reported user)
HX-2 note
Ukraine halted further HX-2 (6k contract Feb 2025) orders; HF-1 contract proceeded separately

Safety record

No incidents on record for HX-2 (and HF-1) at Ukraine (combat zones).

Only active incidents are counted. Retracted incidents are excluded from this summary but remain reachable at their canonical URLs.

Trust tier
Catalog entry · 3 sources · not yet field-verifiedhow tiers work →
Last updated
2026-07-10
Company
Helsing
Operator
Helsing
Status
operational
Operator type
customer deployed
First seen
2024-11-18
ID
152aed3b-7c02-41a8-9ea1-914e3c484f0d

Timeline

  1. Nov 2024
    First recorded
    HX-2 (and HF-1) first documented operating at Ukraine (combat zones).
  2. Jul 2026
    Current status: operational, reviewed
    Latest recorded state. New status transitions append here as the deployment-status recorder produces them.

On the deployment map

HX-2 (and HF-1) operates in Ukraine (combat zones). Explore the full verified map:

Sources (3)

  1. https://helsing.ai/newsroom/helsing-to-produce-6000-additional-strike-drones-for-ukraine · 2025-02-13
  2. https://techcrunch.com/2025/02/13/germanys-helsing-doubles-down-on-drones-for-ukraine-scales-up-manufacturing/ · 2025-02-13
  3. https://en.defence-ua.com/weapon_and_tech/smart_plywood_drone_helsing_hf_1_makes_difference_in_ukraine_quantities_and_operational_details_revealed-14090.html · 2025-01-01
Methodology: Verified · 3 sources (1 primary) · last reviewed 2026-07-10

Verification posture

Verified

High confidence

Review state

Stable

Last reviewed 2026-07-10

Maturity + lifecycle

Maturity stage: production

Lifecycle: active

Architectural position

Cohort: aerial

Sources by quality tier

1
primary-company-ir
Company IR disclosure
1
secondary-industry-publication
Industry publication
1
unclassified
Unclassified source

The framework is documented at /methodology. Corrections at /corrections. Reviewer: DEPLOY editorial team.

Methodology surface for HX-2 (and HF-1) at Ukraine (combat zones).

Common questions

What is the HX-2 (and HF-1) deployment at Ukraine (combat zones)?
HX-2 (and HF-1), built by Helsing, is recorded as a deployment at Ukraine (combat zones) on the DEPLOY registry. Helsing operates the deployment directly.
Who operates HX-2 (and HF-1) at Ukraine (combat zones)?
Helsing, the manufacturer of HX-2 (and HF-1), operates this deployment directly. This is a maker-deploys-its-own-product arrangement rather than a customer pilot.
When did the HX-2 (and HF-1) deployment at Ukraine (combat zones) go live?
The deployment is recorded as starting November 18, 2024 on the DEPLOY registry. Earlier activity may exist but is not yet sourced.
Have there been incidents at the HX-2 (and HF-1) deployment at Ukraine (combat zones)?
No active incidents affecting this deployment are recorded on the DEPLOY registry. Absence of recorded incidents is not a guarantee no incident occurred; DEPLOY records only sourced incidents and suppresses retracted ones.

Deploy Watch

Track this deployment.

We notify you when status changes against primary-source evidence, contract events surface, or a related incident is filed.