Aug 26, 2026 · 1h 24m
Listen from 51:34
Listen at 51:34
Helsing bets autonomous systems will deter future wars
Building Defense Technologies to Protect Democracies | Torsten Reil, Helsing
The episode examines how AI, mass-produced drones, and resilient supply chains could change military power while raising difficult questions about autonomous weapons.
- 1Helsing treats software-coordinated, mass-manufactured systems as the foundation of a more resilient defense strategy.
- 2Reil argues that founder conviction and ambitious government programs matter more than regulation or manufacturing capacity alone.
- 3The moral case for autonomous defense rests on deterrence: preventing conflict and reducing deaths rather than seeking battlefield escalation.
Don't miss
Reil describes tests in which Helsing’s AI controlled a Saab Gripen against a human-piloted aircraft, making the autonomy debate concrete.
The brief
Torsten Reil argues that drones and autonomous systems are replacing exposed soldiers and reshaping warfare, from battlefield reconnaissance to beyond-visual-range air combat.
He founded Helsing with Gundbert Scherf and Niklas Köhler despite early resistance, betting that a clear mission to protect democracies could sustain unusual ambition.
The company’s strategy pairs capable hardware with software coordination and mass production, while Reil says government demand—not manufacturing—is the larger bottleneck.
Helsing’s autonomous fighter-jet tests sharpen the central tension: systems designed to deter war may also make decisions once reserved for human pilots.
Reil links defense entrepreneurship to lessons from NaturalMotion, arguing that talent density, founder conviction, and building rather than commentating shape ambitious companies.
Books & mentions
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