HX-2 drone from German defense startup Helsing [EPA=Yonhap News file photo]

As Ukraine continues to exert strong pressure on Russia using unmanned weapons such as drones, the U.S.-based New York Times (NYT) reported on the 12th (local time) that the German defense startup Helsing is producing attack drones for Ukraine at a secret location in southern Germany.

Helsing is a five-year-old defense startup headquartered in Munich, Germany, that produces equipment such as the 'HX-2' attack drone.

According to the report, Helsing’s drone production facility is located in a quiet industrial park in the suburbs of southern Germany, operating under such tight security that even other companies in the same complex are unaware of its existence.

The company name is not displayed anywhere at the factory, which the newspaper reported is a precaution against becoming a potential target due to the fact that they are producing drones deployed in active combat in Ukraine.

Helsing has produced thousands of drones deployed in Ukraine since late 2024, and the vast amounts of data gathered from actual combat missions are being used to improve its software.

The factory is designed to be dismantled and relocated to a different site within a single day in the event of a threat.

As European countries have recently significantly expanded their defense budgets, investment in defense startups has surged, and investors are flocking to Helsing as well.

Previously, the British daily Financial Times (FT) reported that Helsing’s valuation was estimated at approximately $18 billion (about 27 trillion won) in a recent funding round.

In addition to drones, the NYT explained that Helsing is also developing the 'CA-1 Europa' unmanned fighter jet, aiming for deployment by 2029.

The NYT noted that hundreds of CA-1 Europa jets can be produced for a fraction of the cost of a single conventional fighter jet, assessing that "Helsing represents a fundamental shift in military spending."