The European Union is making big strides in developing and deploying defence robotics but it must move faster, senior officials and industry leaders said at the European Defence Agency’s (EDA) 2nd Autonomous Systems Community of Interest (ASCI) conference in Tallinn.
“We cannot afford to let bureaucracy slow down innovation,” Nathalie Guichard, EDA’s Director for Research, Technology and Innovation, told more than 420 participants from EU Member States, Ukraine, NATO and industry at the two-day event in early November.
“Countries and companies must experiment together, share testing and training campaigns, and validate concepts in realistic conditions,” she said at the conference, which showcased robotic combat vehicles, remote driving systems, loitering munitions and low-cost missile interceptors.
The ASCI initiative, launched by EDA, aims to speed up cooperation among EU Member States and industry by linking research, testing and deployment. The Agency wants to help shorten the path from prototype to battlefield use.
Guichard also highlighted Europe’s need to catch up in artificial intelligence for autonomous systems. “AI is essential for autonomous systems. It enables rapid decision-making where humans must be out of the loop, but for that we need trustworthy AI. The Agency is working with Member States to provide secure datasets for training AI models.”
Kuldar Väärsi, Milrem Robotics’ CEO, said excessive technical standards were making development slow and equipment costly. Estonia’s Defence Ministry Permanent Secretary Kaimo Kuusk called for “rapid adoption from the laboratory to the field,” backed by flexible testing and experimentation.
Innovation cycle saving lives
Dmytro Tolstoluzhskyi, Head of Department, Central Directorate for Innovations of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, said his country was able to design and field new technologies in just four to twelve weeks. “Defence innovation will save lives,” he said, urging European partners to strengthen ties between the military, research institutions and industry.
The conference examined the growing role of autonomous swarms, which are drones and unmanned systems able to cooperate among themselves in logistics, communications and counter-drone missions. Speakers highlighted autonomy, systems integration, cyber strength and electromagnetic dominance as factors shaping modern warfare.
Following the conference, EDA’s third Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Symposium, also held in Tallinn, specialised on the air domain. Discussions ranged from integrating drones into civilian airspace, developing cross-border air corridors and exploring a future training school network for drone pilots.