Finland To Send Thousands Of Spy Blimps To The Russian Border
- 4.12.2025, 18:27
Kelluu claims to have created one of the most EPR-resistant systems in Europe.
Finnish company Kelluu is building reconnaissance blimps capable of monitoring NATO's borders around the clock, writes Business Insider. The startup is the first company to receive a contract from an alliance member country under the DIANA program, NATO's defense gas pedal. Joensuu, Kelluu's hometown, regularly faces GPS jamming from Russia.
The company says its location has given it unique conditions to build one of the most ERB-resistant systems in Europe. Kelluu is developing lightweight propeller airships the size of a city bus, filled with hydrogen. They can reach speeds of up to 53 km/h, rise into the air in a few seconds, operate without a pilot and stay in flight for up to 12 hours in a row - the operator only needs to specify the destination point. In the future, the company expects to increase the autonomous flight time to several days. Each device can carry up to 5 kg of payload, including cameras, sensors or radar equipment. Operation in temperatures as low as -26°C forced engineers to adapt the designs to the Arctic climate.
The airships are designed to monitor border zones, rear areas and high-risk areas. Unlike time-limited drones, expensive manned aircraft or orbit-bound satellites, Kelluu's vehicles occupy the "free niche" of low-cost, jam-resistant aerial reconnaissance. The company emphasizes low cost and mass production capability. Management emphasizes that the loss of a few blimps should not affect the entire fleet.
Kelluu currently has about 20 blimps, but is already expanding production to produce up to 500 for Europe and up to 3,500 in the future. Some of the devices are being tested in Latvia. According to the company, armies of different countries may want to operate their own fleets of such airships independently. Kelluu was founded in 2018 and started as a civilian project, using its blimps to monitor power lines. However, after Russia's war against Ukraine began and Finland closed its border to Russian tourists, Joensuu lost a significant portion of its revenue, and interest in the security of its eastern borders skyrocketed. As a result, various European countries became interested in Kelluu's developments.