The airships, which can stay aloft for up to 12 hours, offer an affordable alternative to drones and manned aircraft, especially in areas with challenging terrain or where radar detection is difficult.

Kelluu’s airships, praised for their maneuverability, endurance, and resistance to jamming, were selected for NATO’s “Rapid Adoption Service” program, making it the first company to be chosen for national trials under this initiative.

Kelluu’s team is based in Joensuu, a small Finnish city just west of Russian Karelia, where its location offers a unique advantage. This proximity to the border means the company faces frequent electronic interference, or what they call “free interference,” from both Russia and Finland.

To overcome this, Kelluu’s airships are designed to resist jamming and spoofing, ensuring their reliability even in contested environments.

“While other firms may have to pay for tests, Kelluu’s airships must be resistant to electronic warfare to work in the first place,” Niko Kuikka, the startup’s head of engineering told Business Insider.