Ukraine halts Helsing drone orders after front-line test failures

Ukraine has paused additional purchases of strike drones from Helsing, Europe’s most highly valued defence technology startup, after the company’s flagship system encountered serious problems during front-line testing, Bloomberg reports.

The setback centers on the HX-2 strike drone, Helsing’s first in-house designed combat platform deployed to an active war zone. During tests conducted by Ukraine’s 14th Regiment, a specialized unmanned aerial systems unit, the drone reportedly struggled to take off, according to a November 20 internal presentation prepared by a group within Germany’s Defence Ministry. The document noted that the tested HX-2 units lacked some of the artificial intelligence capabilities advertised by the company, including elements designed to enable pilotless navigation.

The presentation also cited heavy electronic warfare conditions near the front line as a contributing factor, noting that jamming disrupted connections between the drones and human operators. The performance gap highlighted what officials described as a mismatch between marketing claims and battlefield readiness, underscoring how combat conditions can rapidly expose weaknesses in advanced defence technologies.

For Helsing, the episode represents a significant strategic and commercial challenge. The HX-2 is the first proprietary hardware system the company has delivered to a combat environment, making its performance a key test of Helsing’s broader ambitions. In February 2025, the company announced a 6,000-unit contract for the HX-2, a deal that positioned it among the world’s largest strike drone manufacturers and formed the backbone of its “Resilience Factory” model, which aims to establish sovereign, distributed production capacity across Europe.

That thesis is now under strain. Germany’s Defence Ministry has indicated it will not place a follow-up order until there is a renewed expression of interest from Ukraine, signaling a shift in procurement priorities. The episode also raises broader questions about the speed and rigor of testing processes for AI-enabled weapons systems intended for immediate battlefield use.

At the same time, Ukraine is fundamentally reshaping how it acquires military equipment. From January 1, all procurement has been centralized under a single Defence Procurement Agency, consolidating contracts ranging from weapons to fuel. Kyiv has also rolled out the DOT-Chain Defence digital platform, which has digitized nearly 70% of supply documentation and allows front-line units to order directly from manufacturers.

This reform coincides with an aggressive push for domestic production. Ukraine is developing a “Defence City” framework offering tax exemptions to manufacturers and targeting daily output of up to 1,500 interceptor drones. In parallel, Kyiv is positioning itself as a technology donor rather than merely a buyer, transferring battlefield-tested intellectual property to partners such as Norway and the United Kingdom.

By Vafa Guliyeva