COMMANDS Project enters strategic preparations for pivotal final demonstration phase

The COMMANDS project, a groundbreaking European Defence Fund (EDF 2021) initiative, reached a significant milestone during its fourth General Assembly, held on November 26–27 in Cyprus. The assembly served as a critical platform to align on next key steps, including the finalization of the demonstration plan and preparation for the Main Gate Review milestone. Hosted by Cypriot partners: Vetronics Research Centre EU (Technical Coordinator), SignalGeneriX, Eight Bells, and SKYLD, the meeting brought together representatives from all 21 consortium partners.

As the project approaches its final phase, the groundwork laid during this assembly underscores the consortium’s commitment to delivering results. The testing and demonstration phase will validate COMMANDS’ potential to transform operational effectiveness.

« From project coordinator´s perspective, it brings joy and satisfaction to see all the consortium partners working in such an organized and professional manner », said Lukasz Poweska, representing Sener Aeropace & Defence.  « Since the beginning, we all had an idea of the challenge that was ahead of us, and after two years into the project, I am convinced that we have created a very strong and efficient consortium that will overcome any unpredicted situations. As we enter the final twelve months of the project, we will focus on integrating technologies and preparing for demonstration. I am sure that it will not be an easy task, but at the same time, I am fully confident that the consortium will deliver the best quality results and will successfully contribute to the current and future development of European defence capabilities ».

« As the years pass by, manned-unmanned teaming, UxV utilization, information superiority, cybersecurity and other critical capabilities will drive the future defence activities, and we are proud of COMMANDS addressing these needs. », Poweska added.

Advancing Military Operations Through Intelligent UxVs

COMMANDS has developed a cutting-edge system of systems to enhance collaboration between manned and unmanned assets, bolstering the information superiority, agility, and operational safety of European ground forces. A key focus of COMMANDS has been the establishment of a Certification and Qualification Framework, a standardized approach designed to bring UxV technologies closer to deployment. This effort will lay the foundation for a unified methodology across the European defence landscape. Complementing this, the project is also building an ecosystem infrastructure to support this framework, enabling robust and scalable deployment.

« The consortium as a team has worked very hard to address the COMMANDS Scope and over the past 6 months has progressed significantly learning a lot during the process », said the project Technical Coordinator Elias Stipidis, head of Vetronics Research Centre EU RC EU. « One significant gap identified was the fact that all UGV Technologies have to deal with safety, security and ethical issues, without a clear direction of a standard approach to exploitation and front-line deployment. Probably the most significant output in COMMANDS to cover this gap is the definition of an initial Certification and Qualification Framework enabled by a supporting infrastructure for trials and training to Through Life Capabilities development and management ».

« We anticipate that the COMMANDS demonstration activities as planned in GDELS Santa Bárbara Sistemas S.A. Seville facilities will present an exemplar that would be possible to be replicated or rather create the seeds for a cross EU support infrastructure to building a solid UGVT development ecosystem », Stipidis added.

Coordinated by Sener Aerospace & Defence and Vetronics Research Center EU, with support from the European Commission, the project continues to advance towards revolutionizing European defence capabilities with a System of Systems that provides a trustable and effective cooperation between different manned and unmanned assets.

Looking ahead, the project lays the baseline for future advancements, fostering readiness for the implementation of qualified solutions by 2030.