56 As conflicts continue to rage inside Europe’s borders and beyond, demand for uncrewed systems is surging to expand various nations’ military capabilities at a rate that is faster than the recruitment of soldiers and crews can provide. At Eurosatory, Europe’s biggest land and air tech expo, countless new innovations in autonomous vehicle systems were showcased, including new means of boosting their intelligence, performance and connectivity capabilities, particularly on battlefields and in airspaces where GNSS spoofing, comms jamming and lethal strikes are a constant danger. To understand how the changing face of war is bringing defence vehicle autonomy to new heights, and how both soldiers and civilians can be better safeguarded through innovations in uncrewed system technology, we investigated Eurosatory’s three vast exhibition halls at Parc des Expositions in Paris in June. A selection of our findings follows. Nokia was exhibiting to showcase – in association with its 5G mobile network solutions – its Nokia Drone Networks drone-in-a-box system. “Nokia Drone Networks is an end-to-end UAV system, which includes the drone itself, a dual camera gimbal with HD and thermal capabilities, docking station, ground control station, and all associated software and service components,” said Arnaud Legrand from Nokia. The system uses both 4G/LTE and 5G connectivity to ensure higher bandwidth and lower latency for optimal data collection and processing, including high-bandwidth streaming of HD camera data and thermal camera data (its standard issue payload being an EO/IR gimbal) back to users’ GCSs or command stations in real time. The docking station allows the crafts to take off repeatedly for autonomous missions and return for charging, even in remote locations. Manufactured in Europe by Nokia, the Nokia Drone Networks solution is CE- and FCC-certified and commercially available. It is currently being deployed for nationwide use in Belgium (with Rory Jackson spotlights some innovations to boost military prowess on show in Paris Uncrewed fighters More than 2000 exhibitors and a record number of visitors inhabited the halls of the Parc des Expositions in Paris for Eurosatory 2024 (Image courtesy of Eurosatory Media) October/November 2024 | Uncrewed Systems Technology
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