The 'Nameless Drone Factory': German Startup Supplies Drones for Ukraine War

Helsing Mass-Produces Drones for Ukraine at Secret German Facility
Production Began in Late 2024; Each Unit Priced at 30 Million Won
"Successful Mission Completion"
Unmanned Combat Aircraft Also in Development

Reports have emerged that offensive drones destined for the Ukrainian battlefield are being covertly produced at a nondescript factory in southern Germany.

Attack drone HX-2 from German defense startup Helsing. Official website

According to Yonhap News on July 12 (local time), citing the New York Times (NYT), "German defense industry startup Helsing is manufacturing drones for supply to Ukraine at a secret facility in the south." Founded in Munich, Germany in 2021, Helsing is now in its fifth year as a defense startup. Daniel Ek, co-founder of Spotify, serves as chairman of the board.

The drone production facility is located in a quiet suburban industrial complex in southern Germany. Security is reportedly so tight that even other companies in the same complex are unaware that combat drones are being assembled there. Around 100 employees have undergone identity verification and signed non-disclosure agreements. Many are said to be former workers from German automobile factories who faced layoffs.

The name "Helsing" does not appear anywhere in the factory. This is due to concerns that, since thousands of drones manufactured here have already been deployed by the Ukrainian military against Russian forces, the facility itself could become a target for sabotage or attack. The factory is designed so that, if a threat is detected, manufacturing equipment can be dismantled and relocated within a single day.

It is reported that Helsing has supplied thousands of drones to Ukraine since the end of 2024. The vast amount of data accumulated from real missions is used to improve drone software. Helsing co-CEO Gunther Schuhrf stated to the NYT, "About 70% of our drones deployed in Ukraine have successfully completed their missions."

Last month, soldiers from the K-2 Brigade of the Ukrainian Unmanned Systems Unit were carrying medium-range drones toward Russian positions in the Donetsk region. AP Yonhap News Agency

The company's flagship product is the offensive drone "HX-2." The HX-2 is a 12-kilogram loitering munition drone with a maximum range of about 100 kilometers. The price per unit is set at around 17,500 euros (approximately 30 million won). The company explains that, equipped with artificial intelligence (AI), the drone can locate and strike targets even when satellite GPS is jammed or in environments with severe Russian electronic warfare interference. Following the drone, Helsing is also developing the unmanned combat aircraft "CA-1 Europa," which is scheduled for its first flight in 2027 and is targeted for operational deployment in 2029. The NYT noted, "Hundreds of CA-1 Europa units can be produced for a fraction of the cost of a single conventional fighter jet," calling it "a fundamental change in military spending."

Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, countries across Europe have dramatically increased their defense budgets, drawing significant investment into defense startups. In particular, Germany, which had previously restrained military buildup as a defeated power in World War II, effectively lifted its constitutional debt limit regulation on defense spending by amending the law in March this year. Based on this, the German Bundestag confirmed the 2026 defense budget at 82.7 billion euros (about 14.1 trillion won), a roughly 32% increase from the previous year. Including special funds, total defense expenditure will reach 108.2 billion euros (about 18.5 trillion won). The German government aims to raise the proportion of defense spending to 3.5% of GDP by 2029 and plans to meet NATO standards ahead of schedule.

Amid this trend, Helsing is also attracting substantial investment from investors. According to the Financial Times (FT), in a fundraising round led by U.S. investment firms Dragoneer and Lightspeed, Helsing was valued at 18 billion dollars (about 27 trillion won).

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.