HENSOLDT & Helsing collaborate on AI-enabled CA-1 Europa combat drone
February 13, 2026
The German companies HENSOLDT and Helsing have announced a collaboration to develop an advanced loyal wingman drone. The joint initiative will focus on Helsing’s AI-enabled advanced drone, the CA-1 Europa.
This comes amid a broader push for European military-strategic autonomy and the German Air Force’s urgent requirement for 400 advanced combat drones.
HENSOLDT & Helsing to collaborate on CA-1 Europa
The US has pulled ahead in the development of advanced autonomous combat aircraft, with US contractors like General Atomics, Kratos, and Anduril looking to produce and sell versions of their drones to European customers.
But there are efforts to produce advanced combat drones of its own, spurred on by geopolitical developments in Russia and Washington.
Yesterday, in a significant development, HENSOLDT and Helsing signed a strategic partnership to develop AI-enabled combat air systems. The first joint demonstrations are planned “in the coming months.”
Helsing stated, “The collaboration will advance modern defence technologies within a sovereign European technology architecture.” It is to “enhance Europe’s defence capability and technological leadership.”
@hensoldt and @HelsingAI join forces on the AI-supported autonomous combat aircraft CA-1 Europa. Read more: https://t.co/w3EFwakhth #HENSOLDT #Helsing #CA1Europa #AI #Defence pic.twitter.com/uL7BEJyqGl
— HENSOLDT (@hensoldt) February 12, 2026
This is not the two companies’ first collaboration. They are already collaborating to build a sovereign European satellite constellation for Intelligence, Surveillance, and Target Acquisition (IST).
This is expected to provide a fully networked communication layer for Europe by 2029.
The HENSOLDT & Helsing CA-1 Europa
According to Helsing, the CA-1 Europa is to be equipped with advanced HENSOLDT sensor technologies, integrating radar, optronics, self-protection, and electromagnetic warfare systems.
HENSOLDT’s MDOcore is to be the digital backbone for multi-domain data fusion, networking, and mission coordination. This is to be combined with Helsing’s Centaur, an AI agent.
Helsing’s contributions to the advanced autonomous aircraft will include AI capabilities. This includes autonomous flight control, networked operations, and the ability to process large amounts of data.
HENSOLDT will leverage its expertise and provide AI-enabled sensor systems and data fusion for CA-1 Europa. The company already has experience in military applications in air, ground, sea, space, and cyberspace domains.
HENSOLDT says that this will enable the CA-1 Europe to “carry out missions autonomously, process information securely, and make it available across dimensions.”
Get the latest aerospace defence news here on AGN.
A combat drone with a 10 metre wingspan
While France is working on its own advanced loyal wingman drones, the CA-1 Europa is also an example of a high-end European autonomous combat aircraft in development.
The CA-1 Europa sits in the three-to five-ton class, with Helsing saying it “represents a clean-slate approach to air dominance.”
Expertise in building the physical aircraft itself comes mostly from Helsing’s subsidiary, Grop Aircraft, which makes trainer aircraft.
The aircraft is designed with an internal weapons bay and is to address capability gaps in contested airspace. When the Europa was unveiled in 2025, The War Zone noted it looks remarkably similar to the Boeing Australia MQ-28 Ghost Bat.
Like other advanced combat drones, it will have a high subsonic top speed. It will also have a max takeoff weight of four tons, a wingspan of 10 metres, and a length of 11 metres.
It is primarily intended for loyal wingman-type roles working with manned fighter jets, likely F-35s, Eurofighters, and upcoming European sixth-generation aircraft.
Photo: Helsing
