From Civilian Innovation to Defence Technology

Enforce Tac From Civilian Innovation to Defence Technology

2026-02-18 Source: Press release Sonplas GmbH 3 min Reading Time

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Defence Technology Needs Scalable Production—Sonplas at Enforce Tac in Nuremberg

Together with CUONICS and de Jonge, Sonplas brings together expertise in development, mechanical engineering, and AI-based electronics in a joint trade show presence.(Image: Sonplas) — Together with CUONICS and de Jonge, Sonplas brings together expertise in development, mechanical engineering, and AI-based electronics in a joint trade show presence.
(Image: Sonplas)

Enforce Tac, the leading trade fair for security and defence technology, will take place in Nuremberg (Germany) from February 23 to 25. Sonplas will make its first appearance at the event, exhibiting alongside CUONICS and de Jonge. The special-purpose machine manufacturer will demonstrate how it applies proven expertise from the automotive and civil aviation industries to advanced assembly and testing solutions for current and future defence applications. Sonplas is a member of the German Security and Defence Industry Association (BDSV) and part of the BDSV Exhibition.

Sonplas’ customised assembly and production systems enable precise, safe, and flexible series production of technical components.
(Image:Sonplas GmbH)

At Enforce Tac—Connecting Minds, Protecting Europe—Sonplas positions itself as a technology partner to the defence industry. Exhibiting together with CUONICS and de Jonge, the company brings together expertise in development, production, mechanical engineering, and hardware-integrated AI as part of a joint trade show presence. Under the theme “engineered, tested, produced—three partners, one mission,” the joint collaboration will demonstrate how unmanned systems and their components can be manufactured at industrial scale and built for the future. CUONICS contributes its expertise in developing and producing safety-critical avionics, defence solutions, and drones. de Jonge adds compact, energy-efficient AI hardware that delivers intelligent functionality in confined spaces and supports easy retrofitting. Sonplas positions itself as a partner across the entire value chain—from initial concept and engineering through testing and assembly to the series production of components and systems at varying scales.

With more than 30 years of experience in demanding industries such as automotive manufacturing and civil aviation, Sonplas applies proven expertise to defence applications. Defence programs benefit from automotive-grade standards in quality assurance, process stability, and repeatable performance in safety-critical environments, including the handling of hazardous media. Certifications, clearly defined processes for handling sensitive information, and the design of systems for critical media have long been part of Sonplas’ day-to-day operations.

A focus on scalable manufacturing of unmanned systems

The focus of the trade show appearance is the scalable manufacturing and testing of unmanned systems for land, sea, and air. At the joint booth, a collaborative robot demonstrates a simulated drone production process, showing how testing and assembly can be automated and scaled for higher volumes. Components are precisely placed, tested, and assembled—illustrating true industrial series production capability.

An agile system provider for future requirements

The defence industry is shifting from low-volume, manual production to automated, scalable manufacturing. Rather than one-off project solutions, the focus is now on flexible production systems designed for long-term use across a wide range of applications—from heavy vehicle systems to drones and autonomous platforms. Varying development cycles demand a highly agile approach to system design and production structures.
Sonplas addresses this shift with special-purpose machines designed to adapt quickly to new tasks and changing production volumes. The range spans everything from single-part applications with 24/7 inspection to high-throughput series production processes. Through its collaboration with CUONICS and de Jonge, Sonplas has built an ecosystem that delivers not only mechanical engineering expertise, but also manufacturing know-how and intelligent electronics from a single source. The goal is to shorten development and industrialisation timelines and respond more quickly to new defence technology requirements.

The partners

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As a partner to Sonplas, CUONICS contributes its experience as a developer and manufacturer of drones.(Image: Sonplas GmbH)

CUONICS has been active in the defense sector for more than a decade, offering development and series production of safety-critical electronics.(Image: Sonplas GmbH)

de Jonge develops energy-efficient, FPGA-based edge AI solutions. The compact hardware enables cloud-independent, deterministic AI directly within the data paths of machines and sensors.(Image: Sonplas GmbH)

Founded in Nuremberg in 2024, de Jonge GmbH develops energy-efficient, FPGA-based edge AI solutions. Its compact hardware enables cloud-independent, deterministic AI directly within the data paths of machines and sensors, making it particularly well suited for retrofitting existing systems. CUONICS GmbH has been active in the defence sector for more than a decade, offering EN9100-certified development and series production of safety-critical electronics in compliance with DO-254, DO-178C, and DO-160. Its capabilities include full traceability and European supply chains.

Sonplas at Enforce Tac: Hall 6 / Booth 6-438

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