EU to earmark €115 million for AI, drone innovation

By DRONELIFE Features Editor Jim Magill

The governing body of the European Union plans to launch a €115 million funding program, aimed at speeding the development of “disruptive defense” technologies, such as artificial-intelligence tools, quantum systems and drones.

On March 24, the European Commission announced the proposed AGILE program, to support the development of innovative defense technologies by small and medium-sized companies including start-ups.

“To support them, the program will provide faster, more flexible funding for individual companies, and allow innovations to be deployed as quickly as possible,” the Commission statement says. AGILE will aim to shorten the time between when companies apply for funding and when they receive their grant money to an unprecedented period of just four months. The program and is designed to allow for new technologies to reach Europe’s defense forces in one to three years.

AGILE’s funding will support from 20 to 30 projects, providing up to 100% funding for all eligible costs. In addition, the funding contract will also include a retroactive clause for companies to claim expenses incurred up to three months prior to the closing of the call for applications, to facilitate quick innovation.

The announcement comes as Western Europe is facing rapidly evolving defense challenges, particularly the those involving the use of UAVs in warfare and surveillance.

“Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine has shown that success on the battlefield now depends on short innovation cycles; the ability to develop, test and deploy new technologies and cost-efficient solutions in weeks or months rather than years,” the Commission said.

Germany facing need for drone defense innovation

Germany represents a good example of the need among EU member states to accelerate the innovation development pace for drone and counter-drone technology.

Nina Naske, a German lawyer who has studied the European aviation and defense industries for 15 years, said recent drone-related incursions across Europe have heightened the defense concerns of both national governments and private infrastructure operators.

In Germany alone, last October the Munich Airport experienced multiple disruptions as a result of purported drone sightings. The same month, the Bundeswehr, Germany’s national defense force, reported a record number of drone sightings over its military bases.

“There have been [unmanned aerial systems] that could not really be traced back to any perpetrator, at least not publicly named perpetrators,” Naske said. “That’s been part of why everyone is so worried about this.”

In addition, Europeans worry that the drone war in Ukraine, raging in their backyard, cost spill across international borders. “Each country is doing its own thing because in Europe, protecting against threats like this is still a national thing. It still falls squarely within national security of the nation states,” she said.

Naske said that unidentified drones seen flying in airspace where they shouldn’t be present likely fall into three categories. In the case of Germany especially, there is a great deal of concern that the sightings of unidentified drones in the airspace above its strategic infrastructure locations and military bases may be a form of hybrid warfare.

“The idea is that Russia or other nation states might be sending UAS into German airspace, maybe just to keep the German armed forces on high alert, maybe to do espionage to try to find out more about what the armed forces or other operators might be doing in Germany,” Naske said.

Another major concern is that criminal organizations with a profit motive might be operating drones surreptitiously. “That’s also something that’s particularly keeping private facilities worried,” she said.

“If you think about the fact that industrial espionage might be going on, or maybe competitors just trying to find out more about what you do in your facility, but also other bad actors trying to find out more to plan attacks.”

Naske said the third category of operators flying drones over critical infrastructure or military bases is likely composed of irresponsible recreational drone pilots or those who just want to shoot photos or record video of interesting subjects.

“I think most of the UAS that appear unwanted over facilities, even airports, right now are just in the latter category. From a defense perspective, it might be rather easy to deter or to defend against them, whereas the other two may be a bit more difficult,” she said.

“Here in Germany, we have only a very limited capacity of our armed forces and police forces right now who could do counter-UAS operations. The Bundeswehr, of course, has personnel and has the means of defending against UAS, but they’re only allowed to do so in defense scenarios, not just any UAS appearing anywhere in the country.”

Most counter-UAS responsibilities fall to police

In the 16 states that comprise the federal Republic of Germany most counter-UAS operations fall under the jurisdiction of the police. Private infrastructure operators are limited in what kind of drone-detection and mitigation technology they can use, Naske said.

“Right now, in Germany, I think the government entities are prepared, but they still lack the number of personnel and also really the technical means that are really good at defending against UAS,” she said. “But the most effective measures are really still out of reach for private operators.”

For example, it isn’t easy for a private entity to install a radar-based counter-UAS detection system because the government controls the radio frequencies and requires a license to operate a radar system that covers all necessary frequencies. “You can use cameras, of course or you can use acoustic systems. Operators of private facilities can make use of those.”

Naske said that in Germany efforts are under way to increase the authority to deploy counter-UAS technology, both by government officials and private entities.

“I think this is just starting. And there’s going to be a move towards different technological options and towards trying to get more government entities defending against UAS, but also making private facilities at least able to use a bit more than just jamming or spoofing,” she said. “Maybe not the full means of defense or the full spectrum of all means that we can think about, but probably more than right now.”

Next steps for AGILE

The European Commission will present a proposal for a new regulation establishing AGILE to the European Parliament and the Council for adoption under the ordinary legislative procedure.

Commission members expect the technology funding program to be operational beginning next year to ensure the fast deployment of new technologies to European armed forces. The two-pronged program will encourage the mission-driven development of disruptive defense products and technologies, and will help these defense solutions to reach actual markets.

Read more:

• From Munich Security Conference to Capability Priorities — Why Drones and C-UAS Are Now Core to Europe’s Defense Doctrine
• Unprepared for Drone War? Europe and the US Face Procurement Crisis
• EU Commission Releases Action Plan For European Counter-UAS

Jim Magill is a Houston-based writer with almost a quarter-century of experience covering technical and economic developments in the oil and gas industry. After retiring in December 2019 as a senior editor with S&P Global Platts, Jim began writing about emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence, robots and drones, and the ways in which they’re contributing to our society. In addition to DroneLife, Jim is a contributor to Forbes.com and his work has appeared in the Houston Chronicle, U.S. News & World Report, and Unmanned Systems, a publication of the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International.