Hightech for Europe's defence Developing Under Time Pressure

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Research, industry and governments must work more closely together.

Hightech can play a significant role in Europe's defence if the full potential of digital engineering is exploited and cooperation between research departments, industry and governments is intensified. This was the conclusion reached by leading representatives from Rohde & Schwarz, VITES and AUGUSTA SPACE during the latest Blueprint Talk, which was broadcast live from the headquarters of simulation provider CADFEM in Grafing near Munich. For more than an hour, the experts discussed, partly in exchange with the streaming audience, how companies, engineers and technology decision makers can contribute to Europe's sovereignty and resilience.

Dr Yvonne Weitsch, Market Segment Manager Aerospace & Defence at the Munich based technology group Rohde & Schwarz, emphasised that satellite and antenna technologies have evolved from a niche market into a key technology for resilient information and communication infrastructures. In view of increasing geopolitical tensions and the growing importance of critical infrastructures, secure and reliable communication networks will continue to gain importance. "Information infrastructure is a fundamental prerequisite for security and societal resilience," she said. To strengthen Europe's technological sovereignty over the long term, even closer cooperation between research, industry and public institutions, together with a shared European innovation and technology strategy, is required.

Bringing expertise and development back to Europe

However, industries such as automotive are also of great importance for Europe's defence. When it comes to development approaches, defence can learn a great deal from the automotive industry. It provides "state of the art technologies, research results and the necessary availability of highly qualified engineers," emphasised Dr Christoph Spranger, CTO of VITES. For many years, Europe has focused strongly on the automotive sector in terms of innovation and development while neglecting other technologies. Some results and innovations from the automotive sector can be transferred to military applications. In general, however, Europe is currently "dependent on external partners and their technology" in military terms.

Dr Matteo Berioli, Founder and CEO of start up AUGUSTA SPACE GmbH, who previously worked, among other roles, at the German Aerospace Centre (DLR), also stressed that the development of some technologies, such as electronically steered satellite antennas, has mainly taken place outside Europe. "It is now important to bring these technologies back to Europe for both civilian and military applications."

Europe’s security landscape is changing rapidly

As defence budgets rise and EU programmes expand, civil technology providers are becoming vital contributors to Europe’s strategic autonomy. The event will act as a neutral platform for dialogue between technology suppliers, integrators, and decision-makers shaping the next generation of European defence capabilities and aims to open doors between civil industry and defence procurement, providing practical insights.

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Product requirements for military applications are extremely complex

All three speakers made it clear that this is currently taking place under enormous time pressure. Computer simulation can accelerate development dramatically compared with conventional physical testing. Rohde & Schwarz, for example, is developing digital twins together with leading simulation partners that bridge the gap between simulation and real world measurement, enabling faster, more precise and highly realistic development processes.

However, particularly in the military sector, the functionality of these technologies is highly complex, making planning correspondingly challenging. The speed of development and production is extremely important, "but in the end, it also has to work reliably. You simply cannot maximise both at the same time. As we say in Italy, the blanket is short. If you pull it up on one side, it leaves another area uncovered," emphasised Matteo Berioli. Problems repeatedly arise when technologies reach the market without sufficient testing. However, faults identified in the field can be corrected more quickly through frequent software updates and short update cycles.

The use of antenna and satellite technology in particular places demanding requirements on development. For example, electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) must be examined critically and thoroughly. "Many conditions have to be combined and translated into a product," emphasised Christoph Spranger. At the same time, development and production must comply with the budget requirements of the predominantly government customers, often requiring a careful balancing act.

Another particular feature of military technology development is that there are rarely precise technical requirements. "Normally, customers specify what they want, and then it is developed and produced," explained Matteo Berioli. In the military sector, it is not always possible to predict how technological requirements will develop in the future. There remains the risk that, as in the case of the Franco German Future Combat Air System (FCAS) project, the solution ultimately proves unsuitable or is not realised for political reasons. Nevertheless, only joint technological development will enable Europe to meet future military challenges.

Virtual simulation indispensable for drones, aerospace and space

Before the discussion, Dr Jan Philipp Fürstenau, who is responsible for the defence sector at CADFEM together with Patrick Lorenz, highlighted the importance of such cooperation. "Since the early 2000s, we have worked with defence companies as well as aerospace organisations, carried out projects for industry and armed forces, and provided training and support for simulation software." In aerospace in particular, simulation "has always been a huge topic". Because testing in space is expensive and unrealistic, while comparable conditions are difficult to recreate on Earth, simulation plays an enormously important role.

In contrast, simulation is often applied to drone development only during further development, for example to "systematically eliminate weaknesses". The CADFEM engineer thereby reinforced the statements made by the three panellists. They had stressed that, particularly in the military sector, there will always be situations and requirements that cannot be fully verified virtually, meaning that conventional physical testing continues to play an important role. Artificial intelligence also has its limits. Machine learning is extremely important, but "we must ensure that humans remain in control," emphasised Matteo Berioli.