EDA News

The July 2016 EU-NATO Joint Declaration focused on 7 areas of cooperation and set out 42 actions for implementation. In December 2017, the EU and NATO agreed to an additional 34 new actions, with the third Progress Report assessing the implementation of the 76 actions expected in June 2018.  Activities in the area of cyber security and cyber defence are an important element of EU-NATO cooperation, of which a key objective is to ensure coherence and complementarity between EU and NATO efforts and to avoid duplication.

In this context, Antonio Missiroli, Assistant Secretary General for Emerging Security Challenges at NATO, visited the European Defence Agency on 8 March for first time after his appointment, as part of ongoing high level and staff to staff cooperation, where he met with EDA Chief Executive Jorge Domecq.

The two discussed recent developments on EU and NATO on areas of common interest, and the impact of emerging security challenges on the activities of the two organisations. They focused in particular on ongoing efforts in cyber defence, a key chapter of EU-NATO cooperation, including on training and exercises as well on research & technology. 

“EU-NATO competition is a thing of the past,” said EDA Chief Domecq. “A stronger European Union is a stronger NATO, and I am grateful to ASG Missiroli for an engaging discussion on areas of common interest such cyber, which I am confident will yield concrete results and lead to closer EU-NATO cooperation.” 

Merle Maigre, Director of the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence, visited the European Defence Agency today for a meeting with EDA Chief Executive Jorge Domecq.
 

Merle Maigre (Director of the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence), Jorge Domecq (Chief Executive of the European Defence Agency)

 
Ms Maigre and Mr Domecq discussed cyber defence and the EDA Chief briefed the CCDCOE Director on recent development in EU cyber defence, notably on the launch last month of the Cyber Defence Education, Training, Exercise & Evaluation Platform,  led by the European Security and Defence College (ESDC) and building on the support already provided by the European Defence Agency (EDA), the European External Action Service (EEAS) and the European Commission. EDA played an important role in developing the design proposal of this platform, following the results of a relevant feasibility study which were properly adapted to the actual Member States’ needs.

The EDA Chief Executive declared “Improving our cyber defence is a challenge for the EU, NATO and their Member States. Cooperation between EDA, NATO and the CCDCOE must continue to deliver the best possible training and exercises to our Member States.” 

“In the coming days, CCDCOE and EDA will celebrate five years of formal cooperation. On this occasion I would like to recognize the tangible results we have achieved together in training European cyber defenders, from international law lectures to operational issues, from strategic level cyber defence exercises to the world’s biggest international technical exercises,” said Merle Maigre, Director of NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence.

 

EDA is committed to equality, one of the fundamental values on which the European Union is built. This includes equality of opportunity and treatment and zero tolerance towards all forms of harassment, including sexual harassment and any form of gender-based violence in the workplace. 

EDA achieves its mission through the contribution of its diverse workforce, men and women, civilian and military, from different national and cultural backgrounds and tolerates no discrimination on the grounds of age, race, political, philosophical or religious conviction, sex or sexual orientation disability, marital status or family situation.

 

Steven Vandeput, the Defence Minister of the Kingdom of Belgium, visited the European Defence Agency today where he was welcomed by EDA Chief Executive Jorge Domecq.

A wide range of topics related to European defence cooperation were discussed, including the Coordinated Annual Review on Defence (CARD), the Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO), the European Defence Fund (EDF) as well as the update of the Capability Development Plan (CDP).

Belgium’s role and participation in EDA projects were also discussed during the visit. Minister Vandeput was presented with detailed updates on a range of ongoing projects including on the development of new generation of Maritime Mine Countermeasures as well as on collaborative training for RPAS operators of which one participating training site is in Florennes, Belgium.

Minister Vandeput underlined the important role of the EDA in support of its Member States: “I believe that EDA is actively supporting its Member States in the development of military capabilities that are needed to bolster Europe’s defences. Belgium is happy to cooperate with the EDA where it can.”

EDA Chief Jorge Domecq thanked Minister Vandeput for his visit and Belgium’s involvement in the Agency’s activities. “With Belgium actively participating in a wide range of defence cooperation projects and activities, through the EDA or in other bi- and multinational fora, it demonstrates that it firmly believes that today’s defence and security challenges cannot be tackled in isolation”, said Jorge Domecq.  

Jorge Domecq, Chief Executive of the European Defence Agency (EDA) and Alexander Stubb, Vice-President of the European Investment Bank (EIB) today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen cooperation between the two institutions.

The European Council of 19 October 2017 encouraged the EIB to examine further steps with a view to supporting investments in defence research and development activities. As a response, the EIB recently approved the European Security Initiative - Protect, Secure, Defend, strengthening its support for RDI for dual-use technologies, cybersecurity and civilian security infrastructure. Today the EIB and EDA teamed up to support EU policy objectives, in particular as regards the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP). The cooperation between the two entities materialises as major European initiatives supporting the EU level of ambition in the area of security and defence are launched, including a European Defence Fund.

As a first step, EDA and the EIB envisage cooperation in the Cooperative Financial Mechanism (CFM). The CFM is foreseen as a mechanism for EDA Member States to financially support the set up and conduct of the development of military technology. The EIB role in the CFM would focus on supporting the development of dual use technologies. Additionally, the two organisations agreed to exchange expertise, in particular with a view to identify possible financing opportunities for defence and security-related Research and Technology projects in support of EDA participating Member States. EDA stands ready to support the EIB in identifying projects, that are potentially eligible for its assistance; this could include both projects promoted by the Member States, such as those in the context of the recently launched Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO), as well as projects promoted by companies including Small and Medium Sized Enterprises in the defence and security sector. 

“European security and defence is high on the agenda of decision-makers and citizens alike. EDA and EIB have complementary expertise and are natural partners. The Agency will support the EIB in the identification and assessment of projects as well as by putting its defence expertise at the service of the Bank”, said Jorge Domecq. 

“Under the European Security Initiative - Protect, Secure, Defend, the EIB is ready to step up its support to the security and defence sector. In line with our mission, we look forward to supporting in particular investment projects that target dual-use technologies, which can be commercialised also in civilian applications”, said EIB Vice-President Alexander Stubb. “Today’s cooperation agreement is welcome news for Europe’s security as it will help the European Defence Agency and the European Investment Bank to better contribute to EU policy goals”. 

Cooperative Financial Mechanism

The Cooperative Financial Mechanism (CFM) will play an important role in easing the launch phase of cooperative projects. Designed to support any type of collaborative efforts, in the R&T, R&D or acquisition phase, its support will include access to funding, a well-known shortfall hampering cooperative efforts, as well as the reduction of bureaucracy. It will result in an increased quality of public expenditures. 

The Mechanism, developed as an EDA ad hoc Category A programme, is voluntary. Member States decide if they wish to participate, contribute and support projects. 

Once negotiations on the Programme Arrangement are finalised, the CFM is likely to be based on two pillars. In the first, intergovernmental, Member States will have the opportunity to mutually support via a system of reimbursable advances and deferred payments. In the second, the European Investment Bank will act as the sole lender, supporting dual use projects in line with its policies. This will enable an increased support from EIB to the security and defence agenda, an objective underlined several times by the European Council. 

More information:

• European Investment Bank

EU Member States last week agreed to commence work on a platform to provide Member States with education, training, exercise and evaluation (ETEE) services in the field of cyber security/defence.  The platform will be led by the European Security and Defence College (ESDC) and will build on the support already provided by the European Defence Agency (EDA), the European External Action Service (EEAS) and the European Commission.

The main task of the ETEE platform within the ESDC is the coordination of cyber security and defence training and education for EU Member States. The existing training will be harmonised and standardised and new courses will close the gaps between training needs and training activities. These efforts will be jointly undertaken by various stakeholders and partner organisations.

In response to Member States’ requirement to fill the skills gap in cyber defence, EDA played an important role in developing the design proposal of this platform, following the results of a relevant feasibility study which were properly adapted to the actual Member States’ needs.

The ESDC will liaise closely with the EEAS, the Commission and EDA on the implementation. EDA will seek to migrate existant initiatives on education, training and exercises to the ETEE platform for sustained delivery into the future; a prime example is the increasingly well-established Cyber Strategic Decision Making Exercise. The ESDC will also seek synergies with respective NATO initiatives, also in the frame of the implementation of the EU-NATO Joint Declaration.

The cyber platform is planned to reach initial operating capability by 1 September 2018.  Meanwhile, staff will be recruited and an initial training catalogue drafted.  The full operational capability of the platform is planned to be announced in April 2019.
 

More information: 

• Cyber defence (EDA project page)
• ESDC statement on Cyber Platform

 

 

Providing support to CSDP operations is a core task of the EDA which, since its creation in 2004, has developed tools to provide administrative, contracting and/or technical support to EU-led missions and operations whenever they face capability shortfalls in crucial domains. 

Situational awareness, which presupposes the availability of appropriate information gathering and intelligence management capabilities, is one of such domains. As EU or Member States’ military operations or civilian missions are often deployed on very short notice, putting these capabilities in place often constitutes a challenge. Tactical or medium altitude long endurance (MALE) type Remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS), are critical assets in this respect with their ability to provide permanent and all weather coverage with high quality sensors. 

Turn-key solutions

In order to prepare for future decisions to be taken in that area, the EDA decided to launch a market survey to better understand the range of commercially available solutions which could fulfil possible future requirements for RPAS services in operations, as well as their potential associated risks or limitations. At this stage, the primary scope of the survey is the provision of RPAS services (tactical and/or MALE) covering the aircraft, ground segments (both ground control station and ground data terminal),navigation and communications. Personnel, training facilities as well as logistic support are also considered as being part of the ‘RPAS services’ addressed under the survey.

It should be underlined that the objective of this survey is to identify service providers of turn-key solutions and not manufacturers or suppliers of assets.

 

Full details on the aim, scope and participating rules are available here.

 

Deadline for participation is 31 March 2018.

Two research activities of the Pilot Project on defence research, SPIDER and EuroSWARM, financed by EU budget, were brought to a successful closure at their respective final meetings on the 20 and 21 February 2018. The last activity, TRAWA, is due to be completed by May 2018.

The Pilot Project aims at exploring how the European Union can support building defence capabilities relevant for the Common Security and Defence Policy and Member States. It was proposed by the European Parliament and launched by the European Commission in response to multiple political calls from EU institutions, Member States and NATO to improve Europe's defence capabilities. This objective is also enshrined in article 42 (3) of the Treaty on the European Union.

The Pilot Project had been entrusted to the European Defence Agency (EDA) by the European Commission through a Delegation Agreement, which was signed on 16 November 2015. The EDA proposed to the European Commission a list of topics, for the preparation of the work plan of the Pilot Project. The call for proposals, the submission of proposals, the evaluation and the awarding of the grant agreement were organised and coordinated by EDA. After the signature of the grant agreements, three research activities were launched, executed by the awarded consortia and monitored by EDA.

With a budget of 1.4 million euros from the European Union, the three research activities received a grant in the order of € 430.000 each. All projects were launched in November 2016, namely: EuroSWARM, SPIDER and TRAWA.

The successful outcome of the Pilot Project, as a predecessor to the Preparatory Action for Defence Research, is to be seen in proving the feasibility of defence research funding through the EU budget. The initial rationale and objectives of the Pilot Project, which along with the on-going Preparatory Action on Defence Research was set-up to pave the way for a fully-fledged European Defence Research Programme (EDRP) in the next Multi-Annual Financial Framework after 2020, have already been met. It has supported the demonstration that EU funding can effectively support EU defence research needs, based on a structured cooperation and joint work between the European Commission and the EDA. The successful handling of the Pilot Project by the European Commission and the EDA has been an excellent preparation for the Preparatory Action on Defence Research and a future EDRP.

Unmanned Heterogeneous Swarm of Sensor Platforms (EuroSWARM)

EuroSWARM aimed to test and demonstrate that efficient and effective operation of unmanned swarm systems can bring a profound impact to the military arena. The key focus was the minimisation of uncertainties in situational awareness information for surveillance operations through a swarm system of systems composed by static and mobile heterogeneous sensors.

The main objectives of the activity were to:

• develop key techniques for adaptive, informative and reconfigurable operations of unmanned heterogeneous swarm systems, namely: optimal task allocation and resource management, sensor fusion, cooperative guidance, robust sensor network;
• integrate the developed enabling techniques;
• validate the developed enabling techniques based on empirical simulation studies;
• demonstrate the proposed solutions based on a small scale of experiments.

EuroSWARM was carried out by a consortium led by the University of Cranfield (UK) which also included the French aerospace research agency ONERA (Office National d'Etudes et de Recherches Aérospatiales), the Swedish Defence Research Agency FOI and the University of Patras (Greece).

Inside Building Awareness and Navigation for Urban Warfare (SPIDER)

SPIDER aimed to develop an innovative system to support Urban-Warfare operations by providing improved situational awareness to operational forces entering an unfriendly building. It focused on the use of radiofrequency (RF) stationary sensors and mobile ground robots.

The main objectives of the activity were to:

• develop and analyse a framework comprising the use of multiple sensors to perform indoor mapping and human detection in an Urban Warfare context;
• consider the choice of a data fusion strategy to process and combine sensor data;
• explore the advantages and constraints of using each solution as well as solutions encompassing autonomous robots combined with static RF sensor networks.

SPIDER was carried out by a consortium led by TEKEVER, a Portuguese technology company, and composed of IT Aveiro - Instituto de Telecomunicações (Portugal), Aralia (UK) and the Bulgarian Defence Institute (BDI).

Standardisation of Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS) Detect and Avoid (TRAWA)

The TRAWA activity, which is still ongoing, aims to contribute to the development of standards for a performant and affordable detect and avoid (DAA) system usable on-board Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS). It is focused on the Remain Well Clear (RWC) function and contributes to the standardisation activities in cooperation with other international efforts in full alignment with EUROCAE WG 105 Terms of Reference.

The main objectives of the activity are to:

• specify Remain Well Clear in quantitative terms and obtain validation via simulations;
• specify sensor types, detection ranges and position estimation accuracy;
• develop requirements for remote pilot HMI (Human Machin Interface) characteristics.

TRAWA is carried out by a consortium led by the Netherlands Aerospace Center (NLR) with the following partners: the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt, DLR), Deep Blue (Italy), Tony Henley Consulting (UK) and EuroUSC (Italy).

 

More information

• Project page on the Preparatory Action

To support the defence sector in accessing European funding, the EDA now provides industry, Ministries of Defence/Armed Forces, research-and-technology organisations, academia with a comprehensive European Funding Gateway for defence, encompassing:

• EDA ad-hoc schemes: both Cat.A and Cat.B;
• European Defence Fund (EDF): Preparatory Action (PADR) and forthcoming European Defence Industrial Development Programme (EDIDP);
• European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF), including the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), its 'Interreg' share and the European Social Fund (ESF);
• European Investment Bank (EIB)’s major project financing;
• EU COSME Programme: financial instruments and grants supporting access to markets;
• Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) and its Single European Sky ATM Research-window (SESAR);
• Erasmus+: Learning mobility, Strategic Partnerships and Knowledge Alliances; 
• Horizon 2020 for dual-use projects: Thematic areas, SME instrument and financial instruments.

This interactive Gateway to European funding serves defence priorities under the Strategic Research Agendas in defence and their Technology Building Blocks (OSRA-TBBs), as well as Key Strategic Activities (KSA). It also supports EDA industry engagement.

All defence-related stakeholders can access a:

• comparative view per funding dimension to compare each relevant criterion one-by-one across the many funding opportunities; and
• detailed view per funding source to explore each specific European funding opportunity in detail.

The EDA’s European Funding Gateway is a result of the collaboration between EDA and several Institutions, including the European Commission (DG GROW, DG EMPL, DG EAC, DG RTD, DG REGIO) and the European Investment Bank Group.

 

Today, the European Centre for Manual Neutralisation Capabilities (ECMAN) was officially opened in Vienna.  The ceremony was attended by the Austrian Chief of Defence, General Othmar Commenda and high level representatives from the Ministries of Defence of the Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Italy, and Sweden, NATO accredited COEs (CIED, EOD, JCBRN Defence), German Federal and Local Criminal Police, the German CIED Information Centre, the Swedish CBRN Defence Centre, Swedish EOD and Demining Centre, the Italian CIED Centre, as well as military attaches in Austria and the European Defence Agency (EDA).

ECMAN is a follow-on activity of the EDA Programme on Manual Neutralisation Techniques Courses and Exercises (MNT C&E). Manual neutralisation techniques are the most advanced improvised device disposal proficiencies, which enable experienced and specially trained operators to access, diagnose, and manually dispose of hazardous material. These tactics, techniques and procedures need to be applied where the use of regular explosive ordnance procedures or of energetic weapons are inappropriate, and manual improvised explosive devices’ neutralisation capabilities are the last resort.

At the opening ceremony in Vienna a static demonstration of the equipment, including explanations of different scenarios, was provided. Additionally, during a live demonstration participants of the ceremony gained some insights into the skill sets of MNT operators. 

The aim of the Centre is to provide participating Member States with expertise and experience in the field of Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) threats. It provides opportunities to enhance education and training, improve interoperability and capabilities, assists in doctrine and equipment development & testing and validates concepts through experimentation. ECMAN consists of permanent and non-permanent international staff from the participating Member States at the premises of the Logistic School in Vienna. 

The participating Member States are Austria, as the lead nation, as well as Germany, the Czech Republic, Finland, Ireland, Italy and Sweden.

 

More information

• C-IED project page
• Website Austrian Ministry of Defence (in German)

 

Belgium today became the 5th country to join the Multinational Multi-Role Tanker Transport Fleet (MMF). 

Belgium’s accession to the MMF was celebrated during a signing ceremony at NATO headquarters in Brussels also attended by EDA Chief Executive Jorge Domecq. 

The Netherlands, Luxembourg, Germany and Norway are already members of this multinational defence cooperation project which aims to fill the serious capability gap European nations have in the field of Air-to-Air refuelling (AAR). 

The MMF project was initiated by the European Defence Agency (EDA) in 2011. Europe’s organization for the management of cooperative armament programmes - OCCAR - manages the MMF acquisition phase. Following the acquisition phase, the NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA) will be responsible for the complete life-cycle management of the fleet (A330 MRTT). With Belgium joining, the number of MRTT aircraft ordered will increase from 7 to 8. Delivery of the first aircraft is planned for 2020.  

The fleet is funded by the participating nations who will also have the exclusive right to use these NATO–owned aircraft which will operate in a pooling arrangement. The aircraft will be configured for inflight refuelling, the transport of passengers and cargo, and medical evacuation flights.

EDA Chief Executive Jorge Domecq welcomed the further expansion of the fleet: “We are delighted to see that the MMF, which is a good example of European defence cooperation kick-started by the European Defence Agency, is further expanding. It shows that once a capability shortfall has been jointly identified, European nations can pull together, work on a common project aimed at filling the gap, and eventually deliver. It’s Pooling & Sharing at its best”.
 

More information: 

• Air-to-Air Refueling (EDA project page)
• Multi-Role Tanker Transport Fleet (MMF) expands significantly (EDA webnews, September 2017)
• Germany and Norway formally join Netherlands and Luxembourg to operate pooled fleet of NATO-owned Airbus A330 MRTT tankers (EDA webnews, June 2017)

 

The European Defence Agency (EDA) today launched the EDA Defence Innovation Prize rewarding companies and research entities who will propose innovative and ground-breaking technologies, products, processes or services applicable in the defence domain.  The prizes are especially (but not exclusively) aimed at non-traditional defence industries (civil or dual-use producers) and researchers as they play a growing role in inventing and creating the disruptive capabilities that our armed forces will need tomorrow.

There will be two different EDA Defence Innovation Prizes of 10,000 euros each to be awarded for the most innovative ideas addressing the following topics:

• Integration of multi-robot swarming concepts in support of future defence capabilities in the area of Guidance, Navigation and Control (GNC)
• Autonomous detection, identification and monitoring/sampling/analysis through sensor and platform networking in the area of CBRN (chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear) protection technologies and techniques

The prize winners are expected to propose innovations which, if implemented between now and 2035, would help improve and enhance Europe’s defence capabilities in the two afore-mentioned domains.
 

A contest open to all types of industries and research entities 

The rules of the contest and the criteria for participation are included in the rules of contest available here. 
No specific defence background is required to participate in the contest which is open to innovators from ALL types of industries and research institutions in Europe: defence & civil/commercial producers, large companies & SMEs, defence-related & civil research communities. Applications from dual-use and civil/commercial innovators and researchers are even particularly encouraged.
 

Deadline for submissions: 16 April 2018

Information on how to apply can be found in the contest documentation under the link above. The deadline for the receipt of applications is 16 April 2018 (5pm Brussels time). 

The prize winners will be notified by the EDA around the end of May. 

An EDA Defence Innovation Prize award ceremony is scheduled to take place in Brussels in June.
 

More information:

• Call for applications
• EDA Defence Innovation Prize webpage

 

Jorge Domecq, Chief Executive of the European Defence Agency (EDA), met with Johann-Dietrich Wörner, Director General of the European Space Agency (ESA) on 2 February. 

At the bilateral meeting, Chief Executive Domecq and Director General Wörner discussed ongoing and future cooperation between the two Agencies. The EDA and ESA signed an Administrative Arrangement in June 2011 with the aim of providing  a structured relationship and ensuring mutually beneficial cooperation through coordination of their respective activities. This cooperation fosters coordinated research, technology and demonstration activities and facilitates the realisation of  synergies between existing EDA and ESA programmes and their future evolution. The Administrative Arrangement has led to the agreement of a number of  Implementing Arrangements on a variety of topics.

Between December 2017 and January 2018, three Implementing Arrangements were signed:

• Unmanned Maritime Systems (UMS): A joint study will assess the technical and business viability of potential services based on space and UMS that could support a variety of operational activities such as the protection of critical maritime infrastructure or maritime surveillance and explore the combination of UMS and space technologies in terms of service provision as compared to other existing technologies.
• GOVSATCOM: The EDA and ESA aim to maximise synergies between their respective activities in the field of Governmental Satellite Communications (GOVSATCOM) and support the European Commission in its efforts for preparing an EU GOVSATCOM initiative. EDA activities focus on operational aspects and on the acquisition and implementation environment of GOVSATCOM via its GOVSATCOM Pooling & Sharing Demonstration Project.
• Earth Observation: A joint study will elaborate mission concepts and a roadmap of technologies needed for future security Earth observation missions.

The European Defence Agency (EDA) held a workshop on capability development trends in Maritime Surveillance on 1 February as part of a more structured dialogue between Member States and industry.

More than 50 representatives from Member States, industry and other institutions shared information on capability development for Maritime Surveillance. Based on a call for papers issued in October 2017, nine industries were selected to present their views in three panels dedicated to mid-term, long-term and industry & market perspectives on maritime surveillance.

The workshop is part of the EDA’s approach towards establishing a structured dialogue and enhanced engagement with industry, based on a set of priority actions derived through the Capability Development Plan (CDP) and the recent Maritime Research Agenda contributing to the implementation of the European Maritime Security Strategy. The aim of the process is to enrich the CDP long-term views with inputs on the industrial and technological outlook for specific capability areas.

This was the second workshop in this format, following the one addressing Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) which was held on 12 September 2017.  Feedback received on these two workshops will be taken into account in envisaging additional workshops with industry participation in the second semester, once the EU capability development priorities resulting from the on-going CDP revision will have been agreed by Member States. 

 

More information:

• Capability Development Plan
  
  
  

The European Defence Agency (EDA) held a workshop and networking event on 24 and 25 January to support the development of the future Multinational Medical Modular Unit (M3U) Programme, foster a platform for multinational collaboration and establish a dialogue with industry.

More than 50 representatives from Member States, industry and other institutions shared information and knowledge on present and future capability development for Medical Support to the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) followed the EDA’s revised approach towards a structured dialogue and enhanced engagement with industry based on a set of priority actions within three main medical areas:

• Advancements in pre-hospital care: solutions, including those contracted with external providers, to grant the best possible treatment to wounded soldiers (from the point of injury to the field hospital);

• Field hospitals for present and future CSDP operations: new systems to realise or provide cost-effective solutions for new generations of field hospitals, linked to the EDA M3U-Programme;

• Medical training and simulation: systems and technologies to improve training and learning in a simulated environment prior to clinical encounters such as task trainers, virtual reality simulators, virtual patients, and computerised full-body manikins, etc.

Participants discussed concrete medical solutions and services, as well as hurdles to increased EU or multinational cooperation from both industry and Member States’ perspectives. Another key topic was the potential impact of technological advancements on the future of operational environments and on the medium to long-term medical capabilities trends.

EDA Chief Executive Jorge Domecq met with Dutch Minister of Defence Ank Bijleveld in The Hague today. Discussions focused on EU defence initiatives as well as the Netherlands' current and potential future contributions to EDA projects and programmes.

During the meeting with the Minister of Defence, discussions included the general state of play regarding the Implementation Plan on Security and Defence including the Coordinated Annual Review on Defence (CARD), the Permanent Structured Cooperation on security and defence (PESCO) and the European Defence Fund, with focus of the discussions on EDA's role. 

Minister Bijveld and Chief Executive Domecq also exchanged views on EDA’s further development in view of the long-term review (LTR) and discussed the Netherlands' involvement in ongoing EDA projects with focus on Military Mobility where the Netherlands take a proactive role.

 

More information:

• Website Dutch Ministry of Defence 

 

 

On 25 January, Major General Pascal Chiffoleau, Commander of the European Air Transport Command (EATC), Jorge Domecq, Chief Executive of the European Defence Agency and Arturo Alfonso-Meiriño, OCCAR-EA Director signed a letter of intent on common in-service support for the A400M capability within the remit of EATC.

The cooperation in the in-service phase of the A400M mainly aims at enhancing synergies, avoiding the duplication of efforts, reducing the administrative burden and by facilitating – where possible – common action. It is thus expected to bring significant added-value, especially by increasing interoperability between the respective Member States.

“Based on the already excellent cooperation with EATC for example on air-to-air refuelling and with OCCAR-EA on the development of a European RPAS capability, I am confident that today’s agreement will be of benefit to all our Member States. Working together means that each organisation will bring in its particular strengths and expertise. This is European defence in practice”, said Jorge Domecq, Chief Executive of the European Defence Agency.

Common support for the in-service phase of the A400M aircraft will further underline the capabilities’ multinational configuration. The agreed areas of cooperation are common operation manuals for air and ground operations as well as common training requirements and syllabi, among others. The EDA, EATC and OCCAR-EA will also cooperate on airworthiness and certification aspects, air-to-air refuelling and topics arising through the Single European Sky. 

 

More information:

• Air-to-air refuelling project page
• European Air Transport Command website
• OCCAR-EA website
  
  

Picture copyright © Teledyne e2v (UK) Ltd 2018

A new chip developed under the European Defence Agency’s THIMS project (Technology for High speed Mixed Signal circuits) has received the 2017 Elektra award for ‘Semiconductor Of The Year - Analog’ by Electronics Weekly, a reputed and longstanding UK-based electronics magazine and website.

The Digital-to-Analog Converter (DAC) EV12DS460 developed by the French entity of Teledyne e2v based in Grenoble (France) was one of the main outcomes of THIMS project which ran at the EDA till January 2016.

The aim of this project, funded by France and Germany, was to address the key issue of establishing a secure access to high speed mixed analogue and digital circuits, and to strengthen Europe’s defence technological base in this critical domain through exploitation of high speed circuits.

Another objective of THIMS was to increase the conversion bandwidth, reduce the size of circuit areas and cut power consumption. More specifically, the target was to design a DAC for radar applications with high spectral purity (low harmonic spurs) and ultra-wideband (here 7GHz). The outcome of THIMS is the world’s first K-band capable Digital-to-Analog Converter. This component is critical for applications in high purity direct digital frequency synthesis(1), especially for the new generation of radars and software defined radio. It also has great potential for civil, industrial and space-related applications.

The THIMS consortium also included Airbus Defence & Space (defence electronics activities, now Hensoldt GmbH) as well as Thales Airborne Systems.

The chip was developed using Infineon’s Bipolar technology, meaning the whole cycle, from design to production and application, is based on European know-how.

Electronics Weekly runs the annual awards ceremony called ‘The Elektra Awards’ since 2002. The aim of the awards is to reward the achievements of individuals and firms across the European electronics industry.

(1) see articles of French Mod at the IFCS 2017 “Wideband and low phase noise up-converted direct frequency synthesis using high frequency DAC and Oscillator”
 

More information:

• CapTech Components (EDA project page)
  
  

On Thursday 18 January 2018, the European Defence Agency (EDA) achieved a significant milestone within its Education, Training and Education portfolio with the deployment and linking of Medium Altitude, Long Endurance, Remotely Piloted Air Systems (MALE RPAS) desktop simulators in France and Italy. The deployment to Italy completes the first tranche of up to nine systems, which will be distributed across European military RPAS Schools and Centres of Excellence that will allow networked collaborative training. The aim is to build over time a European MALE RPAS community of interest to improve procedures, tactics and to harmonise training approaches.

The project was developed by the EDA under the mandate of the European MALE RPAS Community (DE, EL, ES, FR, IT, NL and PO) and is a joint effort with the European Air Group (which also includes BE and UK) in which the EDA is delivering the RPAS training technology demonstrator equipment and the EAG is producing training schedules to exploit the new system. This will enhance interoperability between Member States who currently field MALE RPAS platforms and those that aspire to the capability within a 5-10 year timeframe. The roll out of the systems will run in parallel with an increasingly ambitious virtual exercise programme that will provide opportunities for joint training and the cross-fertilisation of training approaches as instructors will teach lessons across the network to students at the dispersed sites.  The project will run for four years initially as a Training Technology Demonstrator and has already attracted additional interest from other Member States.

The EDA has for some time supported Member States ambitions in several areas of Education, Training and Exercise activity. The Agency is not a long-term training provider as such, but  operates as a training consultancy, establishing business cases underpinning new initiatives for Member States to consider  and setting up contracts on their behalf as required. Once initiatives have reached a sufficient level of maturity and are consolidated, they are transferred to a Member State or multinational organisation willing to take over administrative responsibilities and to ensure their longer term development. The Agency has achieved notable success in advanced helicopter exercises and training, airlift, energy management, armaments cooperation and its latest venture into training for unmanned systems.

  More information:

• EDA Training & Exercise programme - watch the short video here. 
• European Air Group 

Strategic Research Agendas in defence and their Technology Building Blocks (OSRA-TBBs), as well as Key Strategic Activities (KSA) often build on specific defence-related Key Skills and Competencies (KSC). The cooperative development and enhancement of any KSC for defence can be concretely supported by EU funding programmes, among them, the “Erasmus+ 2014-2020”.

To raise awareness, transfer know-how and build autonomous capacity about the Erasmus+ opportunities for defence, the European Defence Agency (EDA) published the “EDA’s ERASMUS+ platform”.
This is a new user-friendly gateway providing potential defence-related stakeholders (such as Ministries of Defence, defence-related industry, research-and-technology organisations, academia, clusters) with:
• a swift and simple introduction to funding opportunities for Defence under the Erasmus+ programme; 
• an interactive analytical mapping on ‘sources’ of calls for proposals (and contact details of the relevant Agencies in charge of funding allocation).

For the EU budgetary framework until 2020, the Erasmus+ delivers more than 14 billion euros and can co-fund defence-related projects in support of:

• the mobility of individuals (students / trainees / apprentices) acquiring competences, knowledge and skills;
• the development, testing, implementation and transfer of innovative educational/training practices, by encompassing transnational training as well as the planning of professional development (also for Defence staff, thereby increasing the capacity to work at international level and exchange experience / know-how);
• entrepreneurial skills in defence for graduates and employees.

More information:

• EDA’s synopsis on EU funding programmes
   

 

A grant agreement worth a total of €0.95 million was signed on 20 December 2017 for the Strategic Technology Foresight action to be carried out under the EU Preparatory Action in the field of defence research. The grant agreement was signed between the European Defence Agency (EDA) and the winning consortium led by Engineering Ingegneria Informatica S.p.A.

The Strategic Technology Foresight action was selected following an EU-wide call for proposals organised by the European Defence Agency between 7 June and 28 September 2017. The action aims to support strategic technology foresight of individual Member States and of the EU as a whole in the defence domain by performing joint technology foresight activities supported by methodologies such as horizon scanning, technology watch, scientometric tools and expert consultations. It focuses on identifying emerging defence research areas for potential exploration in the next Multi-annual Financial Framework.

The Strategic Technology Foresight activity is part of the Preparatory Action, aimed at assessing and demonstrating the added value of EU-supported defence research and technology (R&T). The relevant results are expected to further deepen European defence cooperation, address capability shortfalls, and strengthen European defence stakeholders.

The foundations for the Preparatory Action were laid in 2016 with the successful launch of a Pilot Project on Defence Research.

The signature marks an important step in EU defence integration and paves the way for the launch of a fully-fledged European Defence Research Programme (EDRP) as part of the EU’s next Multiannual Financial Framework (2021-2027).  The next step will be the signature of the grant agreements related to the Unmanned Systems and the Research in technology and products in the context of Force Protection and Soldier Systems calls for proposals, which are scheduled to take place in 2018. 
 
All of them - Pilot Project, Preparatory Action and the future European Defence Research Programme - should support R&T serving capability priorities identified by Member States in the Capability Development Plan and be taken up in future collaborative capability programmes.
 

More information:

• Financial decision
• Calls 2017
• 2017 calls for proposals published for PA on Defence Research (EDA webnews, 7 June 2017)
• Factsheet ‘Preparatory Action for CSDP-related research’
• Preparatory Action for Defence Research (EDA project page)