This week’s stories reveal a defence sector accelerating hard on two fronts: autonomous systems are reaching production scale across air, land, and sea, while legislative guardrails — from US congressional bills to the EU AI Act omnibus — scramble to keep pace. Europe is asserting genuine AI sovereignty through Helsing’s new electronic warfare aircraft and a fresh space JV, while the IDF’s expanded AI weapon station procurement underscores how battlefield-proven systems are rapidly becoming standard kit for allied militaries.
Top story: Helsing launches the CA-1 Electronic Attack autonomous aircraft and a space targeting JV, cementing Europe’s claim to sovereign defence AI at scale.
Helsing Unveils Autonomous Electronic Warfare Aircraft and Space Targeting JV
Helsing / Resilience Media · Strategy
Munich-based Helsing introduced the CA-1 Electronic Attack, an autonomous combat aircraft purpose-built for electronic warfare, and simultaneously announced a joint venture with German space company OHB — dubbed KIRK — to develop AI-based reconnaissance, surveillance, and targeting systems operating from orbit. The moves come as Helsing nears closing a $1.2 billion funding round at an $18 billion valuation, making it Europe’s most valuable defence AI company. For practitioners, the announcements signal that European sovereign defence AI is no longer catching up to US rivals: it is now competing across every domain from drones to space.
HENSOLDT Partners Helsing to Arm CA-1 Europa With Sovereign Sensor Suite
HENSOLDT · Strategy
German defence electronics company HENSOLDT has signed a strategic partnership with Helsing to equip the CA-1 Europa unmanned wingman aircraft with radar, optronics, self-protection, and electromagnetic warfare sensor systems, linked via HENSOLDT’s MDOcore multi-domain software suite and Helsing’s AI agent Centaur. The collaboration, announced at ILA Berlin 2026, is explicitly framed around building a purely national European technology and supply chain. For the European defence industry, the deal demonstrates how legacy sensor primes and AI-native startups are converging to deliver sovereign autonomous air combat capability ahead of the CA-1’s planned 2027 first flight.