The EU defence project COMMANDS is well on track

On 11 and 12 May 2023, more than 50 experts involved in the European Defence Fund’s project COMMANDS attended the first General Assembly of the consortium in Athens, Greece. Participants list included representatives of all – twenty one Partners, as well as the Hellenic Ministry of National Defence and Hellenic Army General Staff.

Six months after the start of the project, the two-day event was an opportunity to take stock of progress, with presentations of completed and planned actions, review of available technology to be contributed to the final demonstrators, as well as to discuss critical decisions to be made in the project. A particular focus was on ensuring coordination between all the stakeholders involved.

The consortium confirmed the COMMANDS objectives: to improve the robustness of the last-kilometre supply convoy operations and to reduce the risks for the personnel involved in the activity. The importance of man-machine teaming and swarming in case of optionally unmanned armoured fighting vehicles is highlighted and to be included in the project development.  

There are multiple vignettes and use cases identified that were created as part of COMMANDS project. Exemplary vehicles that are part of the convoy could be: Unmanned Ground Vehicle used for reconnaissance, Armoured Fighting Vehicle, Light Tactical Vehicle, Logistic Trucks, combat Unmanned Ground Vehicle, Ambulance/Medevac, Engineering Vehicle, or Infantry Fighting Vehicle. General mission scenario is focused on the last kilometer re-supply actions, that incorporate one or more convoys.

A renewed commitment to connect with end users

The General Assembly welcomed the launch of the COMMANDS logo and website and agreed to continue dissemination by representing COMMANDS at national and international events. Plans to organize initial workshops with end-users were also confirmed, confirming the importance attached to the involvement of military stakeholders throughout the project.

What comes next?

Looking ahead to the next steps, participants held a first discussion on mobile and laboratory demonstrator testing. The next General Assembly will take place in November 2023.

The General Assembly concluded that the COMMANDS project is in line with the European Capability Development Plan and is even exceeding expectations.

COMMANDS is a development project selected by the European Defence Fund (2021 edition). It has received official support from seven Member states: Cyprus, Czech Republic, Greece, Italy, Lithuania, Poland and Spain. It will be implemented from 2022 to 2025.

COMMANDS partners : Sener Aerospace & Defence (project coordinator), Vetronics Research Centre EU Ltd (technical coordinator), Indra Sistemas, S.A., GDELS Santa Bárbara Sistemas S.A., Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial, Leonardo, Iveco Defence Vehicles S.p.A, Politecnico di Milano, Link Campus University, INTRACOM DEFENSE S.A., iKnowHow SA, SKYLD Security and Defence Ltd, SignalGeneriX LTD, EIGHT BELLS LTD, MASA Group, LNE, SCERTAS GmbH, Baltic Institute of Advanced Technology (BPTI), Clavister, Wojskowa Akademia Techniczna , VOJENSKY VYZKUMNY USTAV SP.

Contact: press(a)edfcommands.eu