During Exercise HARAKA STORM in the British Army Training Unit Kenya (BATUK), in Africa, Helsing has supported a new round of trials and field experimentation with its HX-2 loitering munition and its ALTRA ISR suite. The trials have seen the HX-2 munition employed 15 times and, notably, only the very first launch was carried out by Helsing personnel, with the other missions entrusted directly to personnel from the 2nd Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland (2 SCOTS).

The strikes were flown to a number of simulated tactical scenarios and flown in real world conditions, in challenging terrain and environmental conditions. The trial has been requested and facilitated by the “Medium Range Effector Team” within 4 Brigade, the unit that comprises 2 SCOTS.

4 Brigade, commanded by Brigadier Oli Dobson, is currently the British Army lead formation for the NATO Forward Land Force commitment which has in the Estonia-deployed british battlegroup (Operation CABRIT) its primary field expression.

As part of this commitment, 4 Brigade is one of the leading proponents within the Army for the employment of drones, loitering munitions and “recce-strike” tactics. The CABRIT Task Force is currently operational with the Modini DART One-Way Strike Effector, for example, some 400 of which should be available by the end of the year, which enable strikes up to 250 km away, a first in NATO forward deployed capabilities.

The ongoing experiments are shaping the next steps in Recce-Strike approaches and appear particularly connected to the Medium Range Precision Strike requirement. The MRPS, initiated in 2024, has seen an RFI released earlier this year. The intent is to select a man-portable loitering munition compatible with launch from the ground and from sea platforms, with high jamming resistance and component modularity. The range requested is superior to 80 km, with 45 minutes of loitering and a warhead that most offer anti-armour and anti- Fast inshore Attack Craft (FIAC) capability.

As of March 2025 Written Answer, however, procurement is not targeting a particularly compressed timeline as contract award is only anticipated in 2027 and introduction into service in 2028.

An indicative budget of some £120 million has been indicated, with initial procurement targeting a minimum of 200 munitions.

Helsing has been aggressively targeting this and other opportunities in the UK from the start, pushing the HX-2 in time with the launch of the new UK government’s industrial strategy and committing, already in late 2024, to the opening of a production line for the munition in the UK as part of a wider series of investments into the country, totaling 350 million pounds over 5 years.

The HX-2, which has “significant” British technological and Intellectual Property content according to Helsing, was prominently displayed at the launch of the Defence Industrial Strategy process in December 2024 and remains one of the leading contenders for expected British purchases for this type of weapon.

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