Ukraine halts German drone purchases after battlefield failures

January 19, 2026

TL;DR

Ukraine halted purchases of German HX-2 strike drones due to numerous battlefield operational problems.
A significant portion of the UAVs could not take off during combat tests, with only about a quarter successfully launching.
Drones experienced connection losses due to Russian electronic warfare jamming attacks.
Artificial intelligence components necessary for autonomous missions were not installed.
Helsing, the manufacturer, claims the HX-2 drone performed encouragingly in tests and is in high demand.
Ukraine has received approximately 2,000 older HF-1 model drones, with about 40% unused.
The German Defense Ministry has not reviewed the internal presentation detailing the drone's performance.
The Ukrainian Defense Ministry declined to comment on the classified information.

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