Helsing

Centaur

Flight-Tested

AI air-combat agent ('AI fighter pilot') trained by reinforcement learning at massive scale. In Saab's Project Beyond it took control of a Gripen E fighter over the Baltic in May–June 2025 - a publicly claimed world first for AI flying a real fighter in beyond-visual-range combat scenarios - and is the native autonomy stack for the CA-1 Europa.

Latest update Jul 12, 2026

Centaur

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Current status

Three Gripen E test flights completed May 28–June 3, 2025, incl. BVR trials against a crewed Gripen D; further trials continue under Project Beyond

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Specifications1

Milestone

First AI agent to fly a fighter jet in BVR combat scenarios (Gripen E, June 2025)

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In the news1

  1. Helsing raises $1.8B Series E at $18B valuation

    German defense-AI company Helsing said on July 13 it raised $1.8 billion in a Series E round valuing it at $18 billion - Europe's largest defense-startup raise, cementing its position as the continent's most valuable defense-tech company. New and existing backers included Dragoneer, Lightspeed, Iconiq, Growth Equity at Goldman Sachs Alternatives, JPMorganChase, CPP Investments, General Catalyst, Plural and StepStone, with the company saying investor demand far exceeded the available allocation. Helsing, which makes the HX-2 strike drone and Centaur AI fighter-pilot software and remains predominantly European-owned, will use the capital to scale its multi-domain buildout.

    Helsing Bloomberg

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