Helsing Unveils Contra Counter-Drone System With Interceptors Priced Under €100,000
By Waldemar Geiger · · TexaHub · Drones, Defence & Security, Artificial Intelligence
Munich-based Helsing presented its Contra air defence system and two interceptors, AD-1 Inferno and AD-2 Ambush, in Berlin on October 26. The company said each interceptor will cost under €100,000 and aimed them at Russia's jet-powered Geran drones.
Two Interceptors for Jet Drones
German defence technology company Helsing unveiled Contra, its first air defence system, at an event in Berlin on October 26, together with two guided interceptors called AD-1 Inferno and AD-2 Ambush. The company said they are designed to intercept jet-powered attack drones and cruise missiles. [1] [2]
The AD-1 Inferno is jet-powered, flies faster than 700 km/h and can reach altitudes of up to 9,000 metres with a range of more than 20 km, according to hartpunkt. Helsing said it can loiter, operate in swarms and make a second approach or switch to a higher-priority target. The AD-2 Ambush uses a solid rocket motor and was described by hartpunkt as reaching about Mach 2.5, with a range of about 20 km, for targets that leave only seconds to react. [1] [2]
Contra ground stations provide initial guidance, and an onboard radar seeker takes over for the final approach. Helsing said the seeker works in all weather, day and night, and costs a tenth of comparable seekers. A 20-foot container holds 20 AD-1 or 40 AD-2 interceptors. [1]
Cost and Production Targets
Helsing expects each interceptor to cost under €100,000. The company compared this with conventional interceptor missiles priced at €500,000 to €4 million each, and with the €200,000 to €250,000 it estimates Russia pays for each Geran-4 and Geran-5 jet drone. Helsing said Russia now launches about 4,000 of these drones per month. [1]
Co-founder Gundbert Scherf said, as quoted by DroneXL citing defence-network, that "when we say mass-producible, we mean 1,000 units per month." Hartpunkt reported that Helsing expects output of several thousand interceptors per month once development ends in the second half of 2027. The jet engine and rocket motor were developed in-house, and the company described the supply chain as free of US ITAR restrictions, with most components sourced in Europe. [3] [1]
Testing and First Customer
Neither interceptor has finished flight testing. Hartpunkt reported that flight tests are at an early stage and that market readiness is expected in the second half of 2027, while DroneXL reported that a Helsing representative put the earliest deliveries in the second quarter of 2027. Helsing showed a video of an AD-2 test flight and said first AD-1 flights were due in the coming weeks. [1] [3]
Scherf said an unnamed customer has already signed a contract for the Contra command system, which runs on Helsing's Altra software. Contra fuses radar, electro-optical, infrared and acoustic data from sensors of any manufacturer and assigns each threat to a weapon, including guns, interceptor drones and missiles. Helsing said humans set the rules of engagement and that other systems can be integrated within days. [1] [2] [3]
Sources
[1] CONTRA, AD-1 Inferno und AD-2 Ambush: Helsing sieht massenproduzierbaren Aktiv-Radarsuchkopf als Lösung gegen strahlgetriebene Angriffsdrohnen — hartpunkt
[2] Germany's Helsing unveils in-house air defence system Contra — dpa via Yahoo News
[3] Helsing Prices Jet-Drone Interceptors Under €100,000, None Before 2027 — DroneXL