Interoperability of communications between military of different nationalities, but also between military and civil operators is essential. Increasingly, the military and civilians are operating side-by side in ESDP crisis management operations. Also in support of civilian security operations (such as police, border control, disaster relief) interoperability between both user communities is needed.
Software Defined Radio (SDR) technologies are developed to replace the existing radio equipment with a fully interoperable and reconfigurable radio system. The same technologies are needed for radios, used by both military and civilian users. Therefore, the European Defence agency (EDA) and the European Commission started to cooperate on SDR in 2006. The first results have been produced.
During three days (from 30 of March to 1 April), the Software Defined Radio (SDR) stakeholders met at the European Defence Agency, in Brussels, under the auspices of both EDA and European Commission/DG ENTR to present the final results of the projects SCORED and WINTSEC. Complementarities between the civilian use and the military use of the SDR technologies were highlighted and new projects (as SECRICOM, ETARE, EULER, WOLF, ESSOR), which have just started, have been also presented.
Up-to now, the EDA and Commission funding on this thematic area is up to (approx.) 50 million euros – this value excludes other pMS funded category B projects in the frame of EDA (like Enabling Technology for Advanced Radio in Europe, for example).