How can unmanned systems be integrated sensibly, quickly and directly into the work of security authorities and the military? And how can innovative start-ups and small and medium-sized enterprises be better integrated with the relevant procurement agencies? The first “European Defence Innovation Operational Experimentation” (OPEX) campaign, which was organized under the direction of the “Hub for European Defence Innovation” (HEDI), was intended to provide answers to questions such as these. The platform set up by the European Defense Agency (EDA) aims to contribute to improved cooperation between EU member states in the establishment of innovative military technologies and concepts.
The OPEX initiative was launched at the beginning of 2025 to test the usability of products from the areas of Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) and Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGV) that are already available on the market or almost ready for series production in the area of cross-domain logistics. In the UAS segment, the choice fell on products from Schiebel (Austria), Altus LSA (Greece) and UAV DACH member Beyond Vision from Portugal.
The OPEX test series took place at the Centro Polifunzionale di Sperimentazione dell'Esercito (CEPOLISPE) in Montelibretti, a test center of the Italian army. Prior to this, a committee of 90 experts from 14 EU member states, Switzerland and Ukraine had developed a total of 130 different test scenarios to test the usability of unmanned systems for replenishment or the transportation of the wounded under realistic operating conditions.
UAV DACH welcomes this practical approach to close the gap between promising innovations and specific application options at European level. EU initiatives such as this should therefore also be launched in other economic sectors and for other industries in order to establish a resilient and internationally leading UAS/AAM industry in Europe. The latest government funding programs in the USA and China's massive support for the domestic industry make it clear that there is a specific need for action in this area if Europe does not want to be left behind when it comes to unmanned systems.