The increasing use of war drones is promoting that numerous new companies focus on Unmanned combat vehicles (UCAV). One of them is the German Helsingfounded on 2021 to develop AI software with military applications and subsequently expanded its activity to drones. Now, Helsing has presented the CA-1 (combat aircraft 1) Europe, capable of operating and fighting as individual UCAV or in drone swarms or cooperation with manned fighters.
‘Unmanned fighters will become a key ability to establish air superiority and keep us safe. Europe cannot afford to be left behind in this category or depend on third parties. With CA-1 Europe, we will make sure that does not happen‘, said Torsten Reil, co-founder and co-delegate of Helsing.
The company ensures that ‘the platform combines a mass production plane structure with a Powerful but affordable payload and a worldwide leader software for the knowledge of the situation and the execution of missions’. Refers to the AI pilot Centaur That ‘is suitable for various types of missions, including great precision attacks’.
Its design keeps a strong similarity with the MQ-28 GHOST BAToriginally developed by the Australian subsidiary of Boeing as accompaniment drone for the Royal Australian Air Force Within the program Airpower Teaming System. The United States Air Force It has also acquired at least one unit, in principle for research and evidence.
What the company has shown in its Helsing facilities in Tussenhausen (Bavaria) is a real -size model of the CA-1 monomotor. Its angular fuselage, the design of the wings, the side shots and the tail in V remind the MQ-28, a configuration that other drones have adopted. CA-1 weighs around 4 tons and measures about 11 metersfigures similar to those of the Ghost Bat, and both share a tricycle landing train to operate from conventional clues.
European Defense Manufacturer Helsing presented the CA-1 Europe, to UCAV reported Capable of Performing A Range of Missions, including deep precision strike.
First Flight Experience In 2027. pic.twitter.com/h4ioorhaq3
– Fabian Hoffmann (@Frhoffmann1) SEPTEMBER 25, 2025
Although the CA-1 will carry internal armament, Helsing has not revealed the size of the payload or the type of ammunition planned.
CA-1 Europe is not Helsing’s first drone. The company also offers the HX-2 AI Strike Drone. This has four propellers arranged in the form of ‘X’ so that it remembers an X-Wing hunting mixture (Star Wars) with a missile. It can equip armor perforating weapons And, like CA-1 Europe, fly missions alone or in swarm.
Helsing is mainly known for its Artificial Intelligence Softwarewhich has already been used in smaller drones used by Ukraine In the war with Russia. Foresee The first flight of CA-1 in 2027 and its entry into service before 2031. To do this, it will invest hundreds of millions of euros and collaborate with other European companies not yet specified.
The German company states that the CA-1 will have autonomous capabilities, but it is not clear to what extent Missions may fly without human intervention. Like the Ghost Bat, the CA-1 is designed above all for the role of Loyal Wingman (companion of loyal wing or accompanying drone)working alongside manned aircraft, an approach in which Germany and other European countries have increasing interest.
In that sense, Airbus Defense and Space recently announced an association with the American Kratos To offer the furtive drone XQ-58a Valkyrie to the Air Force German, with plans to have a European version ready in 2029. Airbus also presented in 2024 his own furtive concept of Wingman, ensuring that Luftwaffe had expressed a clear need for a drone that could operate with manned fighters Before the entry into service of the future European Air Combat System (FCAS, the program to develop a sixth generation hunting with a network of accompanying drones and a collaborative combat system), scheduled for the next decade of the 40.
It seems clear that Germany is looking for an unmanned accompaniment drone, especially to operate with its futures Eurofighter EK (Specialized in Electronic War) and the poachers fighters F-35a already commissioned. This combination of fifth generation fighters with complementary drones is also the basis of the future American Air Force within the program Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA).