Germany deploys new radar-based bird-strike warning system for military flights

The German armed forces have brought online a new software system designed to track bird movements and reduce the risk of wildlife strikes during military flights. The platform, called VoVisWxBw, was unveiled on August 27, 2026, according to the Bundeswehr.

It was built by the Bundeswehr's Center for Digitalization and Capability Development of the Cyber and Information Domain, working with the Bundeswehr Geoinformation Center. Development wrapped up at the end of 2025 after several months of work, replacing an older tool that officials said had become outdated and hard to maintain.

The system processes more than 800,000 radar data points every hour, turning them into two- and three-dimensional displays that specialists can use to warn aircrews of potential hazards. Operators can compare live radar returns against historical data, review movement loops to track flock direction, and overlay maps of protected bird habitats.

According to the Bundeswehr, military flying is especially exposed to bird-strike risk because training and operational sorties often take place at low altitude, where bird density can be high. The service records more than 130 bird strikes annually, and in 2024 about 10% of wildlife-strike incidents recorded during flight operations caused damage.

Bird activity can shift quickly with weather, particularly wind, temperature and rainfall, and is most volatile during spring and autumn migration seasons. The new platform is meant to give specialists near-real-time and archival radar data so they can judge how conditions are affecting the altitude, location and intensity of bird movements before warning crews.