AI: Drone manufacturer Helsing helps develop robotic tanks

Two up-and-coming armaments start-ups from the greater Munich area, Helsing and Arx Robotics, entered into a strategic partnership on Tuesday at the London arms fair DSEI to network their unmanned weapons systems using artificial intelligence (AI). While Helsing specializes in drones such as the HX-2, which is designed for mass production, Arx builds unmanned ground vehicles such as small robotic tanks with tires or tracks. These can be used for reconnaissance missions, transporting ammunition, and rescuing the wounded, for example.

According to the Süddeutsche Zeitung (SZ), the cooperation is based on a shared conviction: Autonomous and unmanned systems connected by software and AI will shape future warfare. The company philosophies are similar, Helsing co-founder Gundbert Scherf told the SZ. According to the report, the teams of both companies are already working together to optimize the interaction of their systems and to address the combined offer to NATO partners and Ukraine. Autonomous systems are already increasingly being used there. One conceivable scenario is for Helsing drones to be launched directly from Arx ground vehicles.

The two companies are part of a new wave of start-ups that want to revolutionize the traditional defence market with their technology-driven approaches. They are trying to avoid the slow development and delivery cycles of established defense companies by designing and bringing products to market faster. They are financed by venture capitalists. This approach is intended to meet the requirements of modern wars characterized by drone attacks.

Who decides on life and death?

The partnership between Helsing, which became the most valuable German start-up in June with a further financing round of 12 billion euros. Arx, which signed a cooperation agreement with tank supplier Renk in July, underlines the growing importance of software and AI in the armaments industry. They should make it possible to connect all weapons systems as if they were part of a digital nerve network to gain a decisive advantage on the battlefield. Opponents of this development complain that AI ultimately undermines human agency in such cases and that the computer decides over life and death.

The increased European focus on armaments companies from member states such as Helsing and Arx also serves the goal of reducing dependence on the USA. Considering possible political changes and the concern that the USA under presidents such as Donald Trump could block access to important software updates or even entire systems via a "kill switch" in the future, European solutions are gaining in strategic importance.

(vbr)