Helsing Contra Autonomous Air Defence System and Two New Interceptor Missiles

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Helsing has introduced Contra, an AI-powered autonomous air defence system designed to counter large-scale drone and missile attacks, alongside its new AD-1 Inferno and AD-2 Ambush guided missiles. The system combines sensors, effectors and AI-driven command and control to engage large numbers of aerial threats while keeping human operators in control.

Helsing, Europe's leading military AI company, today unveiled Contra, an AI-powered autonomous air defence system designed to protect countries against large-scale drone and missile attacks. The company also presented two new guided missiles, AD-1 Inferno and AD-2 Ambush. Both are designed to intercept even the fastest jet-powered attack drones and cruise missiles.

According to current intelligence reports, Russia has systematically expanded production of jet-powered drones and new cost-effective cruise missiles. Production of the Geran-4 and Geran-5 drones alone has recently risen to 4,000 units per month. At the same time, Russia is establishing numerous additional launch sites for these types of drones. As a result, parts of the EU are now within range of potential Russian attacks.

Contra is designed to address this threat. The autonomous, AI-based system can detect and engage hundreds or thousands of drones and missiles simultaneously. To achieve this, Contra combines sensors and effectors into a unified air picture. Through Helsing's Altra command-and-control platform, users retain full control over decisions and prioritisation.

To effectively engage large numbers of fast-moving aerial targets, Helsing is also developing two guided missiles equipped with advanced radar seekers. AD-1 Inferno is a jet-powered, high-speed guided missile. It can loiter in the air, operate in swarms and engage targets repeatedly. AD-2 Ambush is a guided missile powered by a solid-fuel rocket motor, designed for high-speed interception missions. It reaches Mach 2.5 and has a range of more than 20 km (approximately 12.4 miles).

Both systems initially receive guidance data from Contra ground-based radar stations. During the terminal phase, target tracking is handled by the integrated advanced radar seeker, which operates in all weather conditions. Both missiles are launched from containers. Series production takes place at Helsing's resilience factories. Their unit prices are significantly lower than those of existing models.

AD-1 and AD-2 are essential components of Contra. At the same time, the Contra system has been designed to integrate third-party hardware within just a few days. This includes passive and active sensors, other counter-UAV interceptors, lasers, anti-drone guns and even network-based drone defence systems. Helsing is already presenting military customers with several of these hardware integration options.

Contra embodies Helsing's cross-domain approach. AI and software turn affordable, mass-producible hardware into a high-performance system. The result is autonomous fire superiority at scale, with humans retaining effective control.

Niklas Köhler, Co-Founder and President of Helsing, says: “Contra solves the air defence dilemma: either slow drones that can only be deployed in good weather, or missiles costing millions that are fired at cheap, mass-produced targets. Our AI connects existing sensors and effectors in real time and supplements them with our AD-1 and AD-2 interceptor systems. Thanks to jet and rocket propulsion, a cost-effective, all-weather radar seeker and two independent European supply chains, they enable autonomous fire superiority at altitudes of up to ten kilometres (approx. 6 miles)—affordably and at industrial scale.”