Due to a chronic lack of ammunition, Ukrainian defense forces are increasingly using drones to fight off Russian invaders. This necessity has led to an evolution in warfare. A little-known Munich tech firm, Helsing GmbH, has been at the heart of this evolution for two years and is working to take it to the next level.

On February 24, Helsing signed a deal with the Ministry of Strategic Industries of Ukraine to incorporate artificial intelligence into Ukraine-made drones and other unmanned aerial vehicles. The company, founded in 2021, is offering a service that only very few can currently provide.

“This year will be the year of artificial intelligence and ground robotic systems for the Ukrainian defense industry. When the enemy is outnumbering, we must prevail in technology and smart solutions. Helsing’s experience and expertise will help Ukrainian developments become even more effective,” said Ukrainian Strategic Industries Minister Alexander Kamyshin.

Traditional defense firms have long failed to build an effective operating system for war. “Helsing is the only visible European start-up making this type of software,” Wired noted last year, comparing it to California’s Anduril and Colorado’s Palantir. “But experts say what’s notable about [Helsing] is the way it maps the electromagnetic spectrum, the invisible space where different machines send electronic signals between one another to communicate” (“A Battlefield AI Company Says It’s One of the Good Guys”).

Handelsblatt called Helsing “one of Germany’s most mysterious start-ups.” The company specializes in developing software and integrating AI into defense technologies. It partners with major defense manufacturers, including Sweden’s saab and Germany’s Rheinmetall.

Despite Helsing’s limited experience, the German government has hired it to make the eurofighter capable of electronic warfare and to provide the AI infrastructure for the Future Combat Air System—two of Europe’s most ambitious military programs.

Helsing slogan is “AI-based capabilities to protect European democracies.” But its repeated pledge to use its power responsibly hasn’t eliminated concerns.

Citing Herbert Lin, a senior research scholar at Stanford University’s Center for International Security and Cooperation, Wired wrote: “If all Helsing’s systems offer is increased battlefield awareness that helps militaries understand where targets are, that doesn’t pose any problems. … But once this system is in place, [Lin] believes, decisionmakers will come under pressure to connect it with autonomous weapons.”

Gen. Mark Milley, former chairman of the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff, called AI developments in warfare “the most significant fundamental change in the character of war ever recorded in history.” And alarmingly, those who defy so-called ethical and moral standards in warfare have a cutting-edge advantage.

Recent military innovations are posing far greater threats to the survival of mankind than most realize—and the war in Ukraine is hastening the development. In “AI and the End of ‘Mutually Assured Destruction,’” Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry warned of these developments and noted that “ultimately, this is not about Ukraine winning against Russia. Ukraine has become a ‘lab’ to prepare for much larger wars!” This is the sobering reality that we live in.

As Mr. Flurry explained, we live in a world filled with nuclear weapons. Wars are increasing and so are the proliferation of new technologies that make the use of these weapons more likely.

Jesus Christ prophesied of our time in Matthew 24, a time when our world has developed the military ability to cause such “great tribulation” that no human would be saved alive unless He intervened (verses 21-22). Recent developments are bringing these prophecies to life.

Request a free copy of Nuclear Armageddon Is ‘At the Door’ to understand how these prophecies apply to our time and to discover the only hope for mankind.