Defence`s Feeds

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Turning commercial technology into military capabilities, supporting small- and medium-sized enterprises and harnessing European unity in the face of Russia’s war in Ukraine are essential for EU defence innovation,  High Representative Josep Borrell, who is head of the European Defence Agency (EDA), told participants of European Defence Innovation Days 2023. 

“Innovation in defence is critical for Europe’s security,” Borrell said in a video message. He added that technology was changing the parameters of warfare, as it has always done. Innovation has also become a factor shaping the international security environment and the global balance of power, Borrell said.  

China, Russia and the United States are all investing in all areas of defence. The European Union is also seeking to develop more cooperative defence projects among its Member States after years of neglect of armed forces and a focus on only national priorities.  

Recalling the demand by EU Member States for more innovation from EDA, Borrell said that “the European Defence Agency is delivering”, noting that 500 participants with more than 50 stands and innovation pitches made up the European Defence Innovation Days this year.  

EDA, which offers the platform for collaborative defence research and capability development, has a central role to play as technology, in areas from satellites to cyber security, bridges both the civilian and military worlds. 

Echoing Borrell’s urgency, EDA Chief Executive Jiří Šedivý said that “to retain our strategic advantage, it is crucial that we prioritise innovation driven by capabilities.”  

As EU Member states and NATO allies increase defence commitments and forecast greater spending increases, Šedivý also noted that it was important to match the demands for new capabilities from defence planners with what small start-ups, academia and other innovators are developing.  

“That is a must to complement long term developments with short cycles of innovation,” Šedivý said. He also said that European Defence Innovation Days were a good forum to try to identify the best strategies for bridging the gap between technology and capabilities, and at the earliest stage possible. 

The European Defence Innovation Days event has been organised for the second year running by the European Defence Agency, this year under the auspices of the Swedish Presidency of the Council of the EU, bringing together start-ups, defence industry and the wider defence community as part of EDA’s Hub for EU Defence Innovation (HEDI).  

'Talk is cheap' 

Pål Jonson, Sweden’s Minister for Defence, warned against too much talk of strategy and planning, instead urging EU Member States to learn from each other and work closely with industry.  

“It's not enough, of course, to say that defence innovation is important. Talk is cheap,” Jonson said. He cited an expression used in management consultancy that ‘culture eats strategy for breakfast’, meaning that no matter how great a strategy is, a constructive, encouraging culture is more important. 

In that vein, he called for an innovative culture of collaboration. “We in the defence sector are never going to be able to do this alone, without close cooperation with the civilian research and the industry. This is all about partnership,” he told participants.  

He also said it should be a priority for lower the barriers for smaller companies into the defence market. 

About HEDI 

HEDI acts as a platform to stimulate, facilitate and support cooperation on defence innovation among Member States while ensuring operational benefits with the European Commission’s EU defence innovation scheme, and NATO’s Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic (DIANA). 

The United States has said that a Chinese Shenyang Aircraft Corporation (SAC) J-16 fighter aircraft conducted an unsafe manoeuvre near a US Air Force (USAF) Boeing...

The B-52 Radar Modernization Program has just started. With the landing at a Boeing Co., facility in San Antonio, of a B-52 Stratofortress bomber assigned to the 307th Bomb Wing from Barksdale Air Force Base, [...]

The post U.S. Air Force Has Kicked Off The B-52’s Radar Modernization Program appeared first on The Aviationist.

A European Defence Agency-managed project to develop a fleet of unmanned ground vehicles has been successfully completed with a final demonstration of a system.  

The project ARTUS (Autonomous Rough-terrain Transport Unmanned Ground Vehicles Swarm) developed a demonstrator for a small swarm of intelligent and autonomously operating vehicles to support infantry platoons during their missions. Whether for transport or observation missions, a swarm can increase troops’ ability to act by supporting them in hostile environments, including in mountainous or forested terrain, increasing their protection level and allowing the greater mobility of a unit. 

Completion of ARTUS comes as Europe’s defence community meets in Brussels for the 30 May to 1 June 2023 European Defence Innovation Days. The ARTUS project is an example of the collaborative role of both industry and EDA in developing new technology for the benefit of EU armed forces.  

The implementation of ARTUS, a project selected under the 2019 call for proposals for the EU Preparatory Action on Defence Research (PADR), was launched in February 2021 and ended in January 2023. It had a budget of €1.5 million. 

Using two autonomous ground robots embedded with a computer, the system works by allowing interaction between an geolocalised operator and the swarm, using a Battle Management System and a fleet navigation algorithm. 

The guidance algorithm ensures certain constraints in both the autonomous and supervised motion of a swarm of navigation, following either a predefined path, or managed by a geolocalized operator or tele-operated robot.  

With the ability to avoid obstacles, as welll as collisions with robots, a single operator can manage the entire swarm by defining the desired path or collective motion behavior,  for example in transportation or observation missions. The swarm can continue the mission even if one robot loses its communication or mobility capabilities.  

The ARTUS consortium was led by Fraunhofer Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Angewandten Forschung E.V. (Germany) and also encompassed ONERA (France), Diehl Defence (Germany), and charismaTec (Austria), a highly innovative SME. The project had a duration of 24 months. 

About the PADR  

The ARTUS project was part of the Preparatory Action on Defence Research (PADR) launched by the European Commission in 2017 to assess and demonstrate the added-value of EU supported defence research and technology (R&T). It paved the way for the European Defence Fund (EDF), under the EU’s Multiannual Financial Framework (2021-2027).  

The PADR implementation is run by EDA following the mandate via a Delegation Agreement between the European Commission and EDA signed on 31 May 2017. By this agreement the Commission entrusts EDA with the management and implementation of the research projects launched within the PADR. 

Americas The US has tested an upgraded satellite communications (SATCOM) capability on an MQ-9 Reaper aerial drone during a multilateral exercise at Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska. Led by the Air National Guard-Air Force Reserve Test Center (AATC), the demonstration is part of an effort to deploy the drone on future intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance […]

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