Grundbert Scherf, co‑founder of the Munich startup Helsing, argues that the NATO eastern flank should largely be armed with European weapon systems rather than relying on U.S. equipment. “We have heard enough alarm calls” Scherf told “Der Spiegel”. “On the eastern flank, we should be able to act militarily – as much as possible – purely European”.
Scherf’s company supplies, among other things, “lurking ammunition” and what it calls kamikaze drones. To reach the goal of European armaments, he presses governments to order more weapons production within Europe and to “quickly change” the strict EU procurement rules. “Curiously, it’s often easier to buy a U.S. product than a European one” he explained, recalling his two‑year stint as a special adviser on more efficient procurement for Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen (CDU) from 2014.
The German armed forces plan to kickstart their kamikaze drone capability with Helsing’s current HX‑2 model. The Bundestag still has to approve the purchase. When asked about the widespread criticism of such AI‑assisted weapons, Scherf stressed that he takes ethical questions seriously. Many of his own employees come from non‑defence backgrounds and wish to stand morally behind the products they help create. “We do not build autonomous killer machines” he said. “No machine makes a decision for itself”.
For Helsing, the AI component simply automates reconnaissance. Soldiers no longer have to sift through image‑by‑image data, giving them more time to make human decisions, Scherf added. He believes that superior reconnaissance can deliver more precise strikes than human operators working under pressure. “Classic artillery essentially fires blindly in comparison” Scherf asserted.
