https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/ukraine-stops-german-drones-performance
The Ukrainian Armed Forces suspended procurements of German HX-2 strike drones in late 2025, after their performances were found to be well below required standards. According an internal presentation prepared by the German Defence Ministry in November, aircraft had trouble even taking off, with only a quarter of them being able to launch. Even if able to get airborne, the aircraft were found to be highly vulnerable to Russian electronic warfare, leading their operators to lose connection. Artificial intelligence components intended to allow the aircraft to continue their missions when cut off were notably missing, which seriously limited autonomy. Ukraine’s procurements were financed by German government aid, raising questions regarding how funding previously intended for HX-2 procurements will now be reallocated.

German HX-2 Strike Drone
German HX-2 Strike Drone

The poor performance of the HX-2 led Kiev to halt orders, which were funded by the German government, according to Bloomberg. The aircraft’s predecessor HF-1 had previously also faced criticism for being expensive and ineffective, with the HX-2 having been expected to improve on its shortcomings. Single use attack drones have played a particularly central role in the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian war effort, with Russia having retained significant advantages by deploying a much wider range of aircraft and in much greater numbers, initially through heavy reliance on procurements from Iran. The Geran-2, an Iranian design produced and modernised under license, in late 2025 demonstrated a new capability to strike dynamic moving targets near the frontlines, with their dynamically seek out both stationary and moving targets inside Ukrainian territory has been pointed to by analysts as a potential game changer.

Russian Geran-2 Single Use Drone and Production Facility - A License Produced Variant of the Iranian Shahed 136
Russian Geran-2 Single Use Drone and Production Facility - A License Produced Variant of the Iranian Shahed 136

The quality of German armaments delivered to Ukraine has consistently been called into question, with a notable example being Germany’s most capable self-propelled artillery system the PzH 2000, which widespread criticism after its first high intensity combat tests. German media outlet Der Spiegel reported just a month after the first deliveries to Ukraine in 2022 that the howitzers were showing significant signs of “wear and tear,” and breaking down rapidly, forcing the Ukrainian Army to rely more on its artillery acquired from other sources, such as the much more dependable M777 howitzers provided by the United States. Only Italian artillery systems proved to be significantly less reliable than those supplied by Germany. The system’s underperformance was far from isolated, with German-supplied Leopard 2A6 main battle tanks similarly performing far more poorly than Western sources had projected, and quickly taking extreme losses.