The hangar doors in Bavaria opened to reveal something Europe hasn’t seen before: a full-size autonomous combat jet designed and built on European soil. Helsing, the German AI defence firm, has unveiled its CA-1 Europa, an uncrewed combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) it wants flying within four years.

The company describes the CA-1 as a “full-size design study” for now, but the goal is a production aircraft built with European suppliers. The jet will carry Helsing’s Centaur AI — an “autonomous fighter jet pilot” — and will fall in the three-to-five ton class.

“Designed as an autonomous multi-role jet achieving high subsonic speeds, CA-1 Europa is tailored to the requirements of intelligent mass,” Helsing said in its official statement.

Europe’s Security Bet on “Intelligent Mass”

The CA-1 is built around two ideas: autonomy and scale. It is designed to fly solo, as part of a swarm, or in formation alongside crewed fighters. Helsing promises a mass-producible airframe, affordable payloads, and world-class software that gives pilots — human or AI — situational awareness in battle. The company also stressed that the jet’s design “focus[es] on scalability and a resilient European supply and logistics chain.”

Testing has already begun at Grob Aircraft, a light aircraft manufacturer that Helsing acquired in June. That deal gave the startup an instant factory and decades of production experience. Grob is best known for propeller-powered trainers used by air forces around the world. But scaling up from trainers to a full combat system with 21st-century aerial warfare in mind is a leap. As Douglas Barrie of the International Institute for Strategic Studies told Reuters, “there is a big leap from what Grob does to a full-blown CCA (Collaborative Combat Aircraft).”

The project also comes as European firms rush to compete with U.S. defense giants. Lockheed Martin and BAE Systems recently announced a joint program on autonomous drones. Germany’s Rheinmetall has teamed with U.S. startup Anduril to adapt systems for Europe. Airbus has pitched its own wingman concept for the Eurofighter Typhoon.

What Helsing Promises — and What It Still Won’t Say

Helsing has not revealed what weapons CA-1 will carry, what engine it will use, or what the unit cost might be. Executives only hint that the price will be a “fraction” of a modern fighter jet. They say they are investing hundreds of millions of euros and partnering widely across Europe, but few names have been disclosed.

Company leaders, however, are not shy about the bigger picture. “Uncrewed fighter jets will become a key capability for establishing air dominance and keeping us safe. Europe cannot afford to fall behind in this category or become dependent on third parties. With CA-1 Europa, we will make sure this does not happen,” said Helsing Co-Founder and Co-CEO Torsten Reil.

Stephanie Lingemann, Helsing’s Senior Director Air Domain, added: “The future of combat air is in attritable systems, with software and intelligence as a key enabling technology. As a consequence, the CA-1 Europa has autonomy at its core.”

And for the UK, Helsing’s Managing Director Ned Baker pointed to national benefits: “With Grob Aircraft, we already supply essential training aircraft to the Royal Air Force. CA-1 Europa will offer the RAF unprecedented combat air capability – an autonomous collaborative platform that can undertake a number of different missions to protect the UK without putting British pilots in harm’s way.”

Autonomy and Ethics

Despite the ambition, doubts linger. Analysts note that Helsing, founded in 2021, has yet to demonstrate large-scale deployments. It has delivered combat drones to Ukraine (some of which work with AI to be autonomous) but is still introducing its newest systems. Moving from software to a combat-ready aircraft is a massive technical and regulatory leap.

“AI changes everything in many areas of life, but also in defence. And the key thing that it enables is autonomy,” co-founder Gundbert Scherf told Reuters.

That autonomy may be the jet’s greatest promise — and its biggest ethical dilemma. Who controls a swarm of AI fighters once they’re launched? How do militaries guarantee safety, accountability, and restraint when lethal decisions are made at machine speed?

The CA-1 Europa challenges the old continent to invest in its own combat AI, to scale new systems fast, and to answer questions about who — or what — will control the future of the skies.