BELFAST — German AI firm Helsing showcased an autonomous uncrewed combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) dubbed CA-1 Europa for the first time today, with the company eyeing frontline operations for the aircraft in the next four years.
In a statement coinciding with the unveiling of the drone at its subsidiary Grob Aircraft’s facility in Bavaria, Helsing described the vehicle as a “full-size design study” with development of a more mature production platform supported by European suppliers.
CA-1 Europa will be equipped with Helsing’s Centaur AI agent — an autonomous fighter jet pilot — and sits within the three- to five-ton weight class.
“Designed as an autonomous multi-role jet achieving high subsonic speeds, CA-1 Europa is tailored to the requirements of intelligent mass,” added the company statement. “The platform combines a mass-produceable airframe with powerful but affordable payload and world-leading software for situational awareness and mission execution.”
Additionally, Helsing noted the UCAV will be able to operate as a single aircraft or as part of a swarm.
It also stressed that design of the aircraft will “focus on scalability and a resilient European supply and logistics chain.”
CA-1 test and development activities are already taking place at the Grob Aircraft facility. Helsing acquired Grob, a training aircraft manufacturer, in June in a deal aimed at developing “the next generation of capabilities for aerial warfare.”
Helsing’s statement does not include details about an estimated unit cost of the aircraft or which engine will be used to power it.
Development of CA-1 marks the defense technology firm’s entry to the Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) market and adds to its growing weapon systems portfolio that includes HX-2 loitering munitions and SG-1 Fathom subsurface autonomous gliders.
Helsing’s decision to move out with an all-European solution comes amid a series of CCA-type partnerships forged between European and US manufacturers.
Earlier this month, Lockheed Martin’s SkunkWorks and BAE Systems’s rapid prototyping division FalconWorks linked arms on development of a family of autonomous drones, due to begin with a platform equipped with electronic attack capabilities.
Other transatlantic tie-ups include a partnership between Germany’s Rheinmetall and Anduril to develop European versions of the US start-ups Barracuda and Fury autonomous systems.