The increasing proliferation of unmanned systems (UXS) is fundamentally changing the battlefield – and prompting an equally rapid rise in enemy countermeasures. Electronic warfare in particular has become a key threat to the effective deployment of our own UXS. The Ukraine war is making electronic warfare measures increasingly available, easier to use and more decentralised. Targeted jamming, spoofing and electronic takeover can significantly impair navigation, control, sensor technology and data transmission – with immediate consequences for the ability to act and protect friendly forces.
Despite this threat, there is still a lack of scalable, tactically deployable and technologically advanced solutions that can detect, locate and neutralise enemy electronic countermeasures at an early stage.
The protection of own unmanned systems against enemy electronic attacks has so far been primarily reactive – for example, by changing frequencies or using different transmitters and receivers in new frequency ranges.
There is therefore an urgent need to develop new solutions that enable enemy electronic warfare activities to be detected at an early stage, analysed in a targeted manner and effectively countered – with the aim of permanently ensuring the operational capability of own unmanned systems.
The challenge seeks innovative solutions for detecting and combating enemy electronic countermeasures that specifically target unmanned systems (UXS). Disruptive approaches are sought that detect jamming, spoofing, etc. at an early stage, locate them precisely, analyse them intelligently and neutralise them effectively – whether through protection, deception or action in the electromagnetic spectrum.
The aim is to maintain the operational capability of our own UXS platforms even under active electronic threat – and, for the first time, to create active, tactically connectable countermeasures against enemy electronic warfare.
Any questions?
We have compiled all the important questions and answers about the challenge here.