Grundbert Scherf, co‑founder of the Munich start‑up Helsing, says the East flank of NATO should be supplied almost entirely with European weapon systems instead of those from the United States. Speaking to the “Spiegel”, he added that the West has “had enough wake‑up calls”. “On the Eastern flank we should be able to act militarily, as far as possible, purely with European solutions” Scherf remarked. The company he runs produces, among other things, “lurking ammunition” – the so‑called kamikaze drones.
To reach that goal, Scherf demands that politicians immediately increase orders for armaments within Europe and “change the strict EU procurement rules as soon as possible”. He notes that, absurdly, it is often easier to buy a US product than an European one. Scherf himself had served as a special adviser to Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen (CDU) for two years, starting in 2014, to improve procurement efficiency in the defence ministry.
The German armed forces plan to use Helsing’s latest model, the HX‑2, as part of their initial kit of kamikaze drones. Approval for the purchase will still require a vote in the Bundestag. When asked about widespread criticism of AI‑supported weapons systems, Scherf emphasized that he takes ethical questions seriously. Many of his own employees do not come from a weapons‑manufacturing background and want to be able to stand morally behind the products. “We are not building autonomous killer machines” he said. “No machine makes a decision for us”.
The AI’s role is to automate reconnaissance, freeing soldiers from frame‑by‑frame image analysis and giving them more time for human decision‑making, Scherf explained. The enhanced reconnaissance, according to him, can deliver more precise strikes than human operators working under pressure. “Conventional artillery is essentially ‘blind’ in comparison” he added.
