Europe nears autonomous fighter jet deployment as AI test flights succeed

Europe is edging closer to deploying unmanned fighter jets, following successful test flights conducted by defence tech company Helsing. The continent’s most valuable defence start-up announced that it had completed two AI-controlled flights of a Gripen E fighter jet — manufactured by Swedish arms company Saab — over the Baltic Sea in May and June.

During the tests, Helsing’s Centaur AI system took full control of the aircraft, although a human safety pilot remained onboard. The trials mark a significant step toward the integration of artificial intelligence into air combat operations, Caliber.Az cites the Financial Times article. 

Stephanie Lingemann, senior director of Helsing’s air division, said the technology was progressing faster than expected.

“Adoption of the software by air forces in real-life settings was a question of ‘years rather than decades’,” she said from the company’s Munich headquarters. “We expect it this decade.”

Lingemann highlighted the speed at which AI can outperform human pilots.

“While the best human fighter pilot could expect to accrue 5,000 flight hours during their careers, it took just 72 hours for Helsing’s company’s Centaur AI system to gain a million hours of experience,” she noted. “You can get to superhuman performance very quickly, react to new circumstances . . . and you are not having to send your pilots into dangerous situations. That’s why this is so revolutionary.”

Militaries worldwide — including the US, Russia, and China — are racing to develop AI enhancements for current aircraft as well as new systems like unmanned “loyal wingmen” that fly alongside traditional jets to boost capabilities.

The shift marks “a paradigm shift in air combat worldwide,” said US Air Force Colonel Kevin Anderson in a recent article for the Joint Air Power Competence Centre, a NATO think tank.

Despite the breakthrough, Lingemann said human pilots will remain integral for the foreseeable future.

“I think we will have decades where we see both,” she said. “And then gradually operators — as with drones — will switch to different roles.”

Founded just four years ago, Helsing has rapidly grown in response to heightened defence spending across Europe, fueled by the war in Ukraine and declining US military involvement on the continent. In June, a €600 million funding round led by Spotify founder Daniel Ek’s investment firm brought Helsing’s valuation to €12 billion.

Originally focused on AI software, the company has since expanded into the production of drones and unmanned underwater vehicles. Though launched by three Germans, Helsing maintains offices in Munich, Berlin, London, and Paris, positioning itself as a pan-European player.

The rapid rise of autonomous weaponry raises difficult ethical and strategic questions. Antoine Bordes, Helsing’s vice-president for artificial intelligence, acknowledged the concerns but stressed the importance of European involvement.

“Humans were always central to decision-making when it came to the deployment of Helsing weapons and software systems,” he said. “But... if we don’t do it in Europe, with our own values, it will be done elsewhere.”

Simon Brünjes, who oversees Helsing’s drone division, said the company has no intention of producing fully autonomous drones capable of selecting and striking targets without human input.

“In such an environment, we want a human to be making the decision,” he said, referring to front-line zones in Ukraine where civilian and military infrastructure are often intertwined. “In other scenarios — full-scale war with Russia or China — it’s a different question.”

Helsing currently has contracts to deliver 10,000 drones to Ukraine. However, some Ukrainian forces have criticized the performance and pricing of Helsing’s Altra software and its HF-1 “kamikaze” drone, designed to detonate on impact.

Brünjes acknowledged the limitations of the HF-1, calling it a “capability ceiling,” but said its successor — the HX-2 — was undergoing testing in Ukraine and would offer significant upgrades.

By Sabina Mammadli