European armies depend more and more on the so -called emerging and disruptive technologies to improve their performance, protect better and weaken their enemies.
One of the most important technologies is artificial intelligence, which is capable of analyzing large data sets to anticipate threats and allow quick decisions. Another promising domain is that of robotics, with the development of autonomous systems, such as transport robots and, above all, drones. Hypersonic weapons, advanced materials and quantum technologies are also opening great opportunities.
Our reporter Valérie Gauriat moved to Poland, which made defense a priority during its rotary presidency of the European Union. Like many other Member States, the country is exploring the promises of emerging technologies applied to defense.
In Warsovia, a recent “Hackathon” brought together about 200 programmers from all over Europe to conceive technological projects related to defense in 24 hours.
“We are building an innovation network in the defense domain to inspire young people to work in solutions that save lives and face urgent security challenges,” explains Benjamin Wolba, co -founder of the European Defense network Tech Hub, co -organizer of the event.
“Europe has to wake up; we have to have the means to defend ourselves,” he insists.
The projects presented by multinational equipment include a radios -based system defined by software to locate enemy positions, or an initiative that combines therapy with AI fans to quickly treat antibiotic infections resistant to soldiers.
Ukrainian students have created an autonomous spherical robot for offensive missions, as well as visually guided ammunition to achieve enemy positions with greater precision.
“Europe has to adopt autonomous systems because they are the future,” says Illya, a computational vision expert. “This is how we can save lives in the case of war. Robots will fight, not people.”
For these young engineers, the challenge goes beyond the simple technological feats. “We have skills in systems, navigation and computer vision engineering, but above all, this initiative reflects our values,” explains João, a member of a Portuguese team that came to present a navigation system that uses artificial intelligence to locate drones in the absence of GPS. “We are fighting for what we believe: our freedom as European.”
Technological advances also put new challenges: cyber, the vulnerability of energy infrastructure and space disturbances of capacities are threats that have become real, underlines Federica Valente, Innovation Director of the European Defense Agency. Europe must accelerate the adoption of these technologies to face these dangers, he says.
And you also have to recover the lost time in the financial plan. The fragmentation of the investment between the Member States, the persistent well between civil and military technologies and the lack of access to capital for new defense companies are some of the obstacles that must be overcome, he explains. “We really need to coordinate and channel investment for innovative defense actions,” says Valente.
