The Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In Bundeswehr (BAAINBw) has commissioned the HIS consortium, consisting of Helsing GmbH and Schönhofer Sales and Engineering GmbH (SSE), a Rohde & Schwarz company, as well as IBM Deutschland GmbH, to provide an infrastructure for the development of artificial intelligence (AI) as part of the Future Combat Air System (FCAS) has been commissioned. The contract for the provision of this software platform (“AI backbone”) was signed by the BAAINBw on August 7, with the contract starting immediately.
In the multinational FCAS, Germany, France and Spain are jointly developing a next-generation air combat system. Part of FCAS is the Next Generation Weapon System (NGWS), consisting of a sixth-generation fighter aircraft and unmanned aerial systems. FCAS is flanked by national measures in Germany. The contract awarded to the consortium now marks the starting signal for these accompanying measures “National Research and Technology (R&T) Project NGWS”.
“AI plays a decisive role in conflicts with opponents at eye level.
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Stephanie Lingemann, Programmdirektorin bei Helsing
The use of AI will be central to the air superiority of FCAS. Be it for the evaluation of sensor data, mission planning or effector deployment: AI applications determine precision, speed and efficiency in missions. In order to develop, roll out and use this key capability quickly, Germany is relying on a cross-sectional platform as a development environment for all partners and pillars of the FCAS program. “AI plays a crucial role in conflicts with adversaries at eye level,” says Stephanie Lingemann, Program Director at Helsing. “With the AI backbone, we are taking the first step towards cross-cutting enablement of the Air Force with AI – FCAS is progressing as a program, but such an infrastructure is central to any platform.” https://militaeraktuell.at/auftakt-pressekonfernz-fuer-die-airpower-2024/ “SSE has a long and very good history of cooperation with the Bundeswehr on innovation topics and we are pleased to drive the promotion of AI technologies in Germany,” explains Dr. Martin Schönhofer, Managing Director of SSE. With the AI backbone, the HIS consortium enables AI for military applications to be developed in a comprehensible and high-performance manner, even in complex industrial collaborations, and to be used in the Bundeswehr. The partners in the consortium contribute their strengths: Helsing is “on edge” in the field of AI development and training processes and AI deployment on military platforms. As a long-standing partner of the Bundeswehr, SSE uses its expertise in real-time situational awareness, analytics, AI and the management of complex data and data formats. IBM complements the team with its expertise in the military sector and provides cloud technologies for the use of artificial intelligence in security-relevant areas.
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