US soldiers hit 15 targets with 17 Helsing HX-2 drones at a NATO exercise in Lithuania
The first known US Army field test of Germany's AI strike drone gives Helsing an opening into the American market, five months after Ukraine paused new orders.
The first known US Army field test of Germany's AI strike drone gives Helsing an opening into the American market, five months after Ukraine paused new orders.
US soldiers flying the HX-2, the AI strike drone from Munich's Helsing, hit 15 targets with 17 launches at Project Flytrap, a counter-drone exercise at Lithuania's Pabradė Training Area, Axios reported, citing Army chief technology officer Alex Miller. Two more flights were near misses. The exercise logged about 200 drone flights in all.
The HX-2 arrived billed as a one-way attack and counter-drone weapon, Miller told Axios, but operators flew it as a reconnaissance platform and loitering munition because its onboard computer vision kept finding and tracking targets under jamming. Gen. Christopher Donahue, who commands US Army Europe and Africa, appears in Army photos beside an HX-2 transport box.
A company spokesman confirmed the US test flights to hartpunkt and declined to give details. The HX-2 is an electric X-wing airframe, 12 kilograms at launch, 220 km/h, 100 kilometers of range, with an AI stack designed to reacquire and engage targets without a GNSS signal or a continuous data link.
Helsing has been delivering the drone to Ukraine since late 2025, and it flies daily at the front in the thousands, the company told hartpunkt. The Bundeswehr bought it as one of three loitering munitions for its uncrewed recce-strike network, with the artillery battalion of Panzerbrigade 45 in Lithuania first in line. The record carries a dent. Ukraine held off on new HX-2 orders in January after test failures surfaced in a German military document, Bloomberg reported, and Helsing disputed the findings.
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Subscribe Free →Helsing is closing a $1.2 billion round at an $18 billion valuation, per Axios, and its order book so far runs through Berlin and Kyiv. Fifteen hits in front of the US Army Europe commander is the company's first public mark inside the world's largest defense market. What converts it into revenue is a US program of record, and none exists yet.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happened at Project Flytrap?
US soldiers fired 17 Helsing HX-2 drones during the counter-drone exercise at Pabradė Training Area in Lithuania and hit 15 targets, with two near misses, Axios reported, citing Army chief technology officer Alex Miller. The exercise ran about 200 drone flights in total.
What is the Helsing HX-2?
The HX-2 is an electrically propelled X-wing strike drone from Munich-based Helsing, weighing about 12 kilograms with a 220 km/h top speed and 100 kilometers of range. Its onboard AI can reacquire and engage targets without a GNSS signal or continuous data link, per the company's specifications cited by hartpunkt.
Is the HX-2 used in combat?
Yes. Helsing told hartpunkt the drone has been delivered to Ukraine since late 2025 and flies in the thousands in daily use at the front. The Bundeswehr has also bought it as one of three loitering-munition systems.
Didn't Ukraine pause its HX-2 orders?
Bloomberg reported in January 2026 that Ukraine held off on new HX-2 orders after test failures surfaced in a German military document. Helsing disputed those findings, and no formal cancellation has been announced.
Does the US Army plan to buy the HX-2?
No purchase has been announced. The Flytrap flights were an evaluation, not a procurement. Helsing confirmed the test to hartpunkt but declined to discuss next steps, and no US program of record currently covers the drone.
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Marcus Schuler
Marcus Schuler edits BattlePolicy, a daily defense-technology brief connecting the companies and capabilities behind modern war to the contest among Europe, the US, Russia, and China.