"Mini-Taurus"

German company delivers 4000 AI drones to Ukraine

The Helsing drones are said to be largely immune to jammers and similar measures.

(Bild: helsing.ai)

The Munich-based company Helsing is to supply Ukraine with 4,000 AI-controlled attack drones. A contract for the so-called Strike drones is said to have been signed with the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense in September.

According to the German newspaper "Bild" on Monday, the delivery does not involve conventional, human-controlled kamikaze drones, but AI-controlled high-tech aircraft nicknamed "Mini-Taurus". The name is a reference to the Taurus cruise missile with a range of more than 500 kilometers, which the Ukrainian government has repeatedly requested to be delivered. However, the German cabinet, led by Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz, has rejected the delivery of the cruise missiles to Kiev.

Defense Minister Boris Pistorius announced the delivery of thousands of combat drones to Ukraine in June, without giving any further details. Now the delivery is set to begin, he said during a visit to Schrobenhausen in Bavaria, confirming the report. The drones are a "really important asset for the Ukrainian armed forces, especially when it comes to attacking the logistics chains and command posts in the hinterland".

Long range and high hit rate
According to Bild, the Helsing drones have software that makes them largely immune to jammers and similar measures. The drone can "stay on course even in adverse weather conditions or in bombed-out areas", the newspaper quoted an arms expert as saying. According to this, the drones can even fly to targets "if the radio link is disrupted". As a result, their hit rate is significantly higher than "with purely manually controlled combat drones".

The drones have a range up to four times greater than conventional kamikaze drones used by the Ukrainian army, the report continued. Several of the drones are currently being "further developed under real-life conditions in the east of Ukraine". From December, several hundred units are to be delivered each month.

The newspaper quoted Pistorius as saying that the Ukrainian armed forces could use the strike drones against "Russian high-value military targets", "for example Russian command posts or logistical facilities". In view of the massive Russian airstrikes, he is "very pleased that the delivery of these AI-supported Strike drones is starting right now".