Media: Ukraine pauses further orders of German Helsing drones after test problems

Ukraine has paused additional orders for strike drones from the Germany-based defence tech start-up Helsing after problems emerged during frontline testing.

According to Bloomberg sources, the company's flagship HX-2 strike drone has had take-off problems during trials.

They also said that some of the artificial intelligence components intended to enable autonomous control are missing from the model.

A presentation dated 20 November 2025, seen by Bloomberg News, was compiled by a unit reporting to General Gunter Schneider, who had been appointed in October as head of the armed forces department at Germany's Defence Ministry.

Three of the people said that Helsing's drones are affected by jamming near the frontline, which cuts links with human operators. According to the presentation and two of the sources, these setbacks have reduced demand for the drones, which are paid for by the German armed forces.

The sources added that Germany does not plan to place another order until Ukraine shows interest.

In a statement, Helsing said that it is not aware of the presentation and rejects several of Bloomberg's conclusions, including claims that HX-2 drones have a high failure rate on take-off. The company said that several units in Ukraine's armed forces have expressed interest in the drone.

"The hit rate of the first flights, which was officially documented, is encouraging," Helsing said.

Helsing added that it is still too early to draw conclusions about the drone's performance on the front line in Ukraine.

The company also said that it expects HX-2 to perform well on the battlefield, including in electronic warfare conditions.

In July 2025, Helsing delivered 1,950 AI-powered HF-1 kamikaze drones to Ukraine, developed jointly with the Ukrainian manufacturer.

On 14 January, Germany delivered a military aid package to Ukraine that included 600 HF-1 attack drones.

In February, Helsing announced it would produce 6,000 AI-guided HX-2 attack drones for delivery to Ukraine.