Introduction
The CapTech Maritime is where naval experts from across the EU, industry and academia meet to push naval defence forward. Born in the early days of EDA, it has grown into the central hub for collaboration on maritime systems covering design, mobility, survivability, sensors, communications, combat systems, simulation, training, energy, propulsion, autonomy, and weapons.
By pooling resources and expertise, CapTech Maritime reduces duplication and costs, and accelerates innovation: joint testing, benchmarking, and the development of common standards. The CapTech boosts capabilities and strengthens interoperability, enabling Europe’s navies to operate seamlessly together.
Technology Building Blocks
Technology Building Blocks (TBBs) are the specific technological focus areas that guide the CapTech’s activities and research priorities. Activities of the CapTech Maritime are structured through the following TBBs:
- Integrated maritime communication and sensor networks: technologies for monitoring the maritime domain on surface and underwater, including distributed sensor systems, sensor fusion, and secure, cyber-resilient communications.
- Naval warfare simulation and training: advanced digital environments leveraging modelling, simulation, digital twins, AI and immersive technologies (e.g. AR/VR) to support training, mission rehearsal, and CONOPS development.
- Platform design, modularity and survivability: technologies to enhance the robustness, adaptability and resilience of naval platforms through modular architectures, system-of-systems integration, and survivability-by-design approaches.
- Energy resilience for naval platforms: innovative solutions for energy generation, storage, and management onboard naval platforms, both manned and unmanned. This includes advanced propulsion concepts, energy-efficient architectures, and technologies supporting increased endurance, sustainability, and resilience.
- Extended autonomy and robotics: development of advanced autonomous and robotic systems to expand operational reach and effectiveness, including unmanned surface and underwater systems, swarming capabilities, and human–machine teaming.
- Identifying and countering threats: technologies to detect, identify, and respond to evolving threats, including advanced sensing, ISR capabilities, counter-UxV systems, and integration of emerging effectors such as electromagnetic and hypervelocity weapons.
- Decision support in naval operations and maintenance: application of AI and advanced data analytics to enhance situational understanding, accelerate decision-making processes, and improve operational effectiveness.
Together, these TBBs ensure the development of advanced naval capabilities across all operational domains.
Link to EDA’s capability domains
The CapTech Maritime supports capability domains such as maritime combat, command and control, force protection & survivability, situational awareness & sensors, training & simulation, energy & propulsion and autonomy & robotics.
By aligning with these capability domains, CapTech Maritime ensures that its activities directly support the development of advanced naval capabilities, interoperability, and resilience across all operational maritime domains.
Join the CapTech
The CapTech Maritime meets two to three times per year. All information is shared via EDA’s online collaborative workspace. In addition to the CapTech meetings, EDA organises workshops dedicated to specific topics to investigate areas and promote cooperation.
You can submit a request for membership to the CapTech moderator. The applications are subject to approval by the respective CapTech National Coordinator (CNC). The approval of the CNC is necessary for becoming a Governmental Expert (CGE) or non-Governmental Expert (CnGE), and for your participation in a CapTech event.