Rakuten aids Helsing's pitch of HX-2 strike drone to Japan

Rakuten, the Japanese e-commerce and financial services group, is assisting German defense technology firm Helsing in efforts to sell its HX-2 strike drone to the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force, according to reporting first published by Nikkei and later confirmed by Rakuten to Reuters.

The JGSDF is running field tests of the HX-2 that are due to continue until the end of September 2026, Rakuten said. Helsing stated it reached an initial agreement with Japanese authorities earlier in 2026, crediting a local brokerage partner it did not name. Neither company has disclosed a potential order value or the number of aircraft that might be involved. Japan is expected to make a decision on whether to adopt the system once the trials are complete.

The HX-2 is described as an electrically propelled, x-wing loitering munition with a range of up to 100 kilometers and a weight of about 12 kilograms. It is offered with multipurpose, anti-tank and anti-structure payloads. Helsing says the drone carries onboard artificial intelligence that lets it search for, re-identify and engage targets without a continuous communications link, which the company says gives it resistance to jamming, while keeping a human operator involved in critical decisions. Multiple units can reportedly be linked through Helsing's Altra reconnaissance-strike platform.

Helsing has previously trialed the HX-2 in four European countries and supplies the drone to Ukraine under German government funding. The company earlier this year rejected reports that Ukraine and Germany had paused further orders after difficulties during frontline testing.

Founded in 2021, Helsing started in battlefield software before moving into strike drones, underwater surveillance and military aviation. It acquired Grob Aircraft in June 2025 and raised $1.8 billion in July 2026, a round that valued the company at $18 billion.