Karlsruhe to host new drone and counter-drone research centre

An innovation and transfer centre for drones and counter-drone technology is being established in Karlsruhe. The centre, known by its German abbreviation IZEDD, held an opening workshop on 8 October that brought together around 100 representatives from research, industry, public authorities and security organisations to discuss possible projects and technological priorities.

It will be run by the Fraunhofer Institute IOSB, the Fraunhofer Institute ICT and the Institute of Production Science at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. The state of Baden-Württemberg is funding the start-up phase.

The stated aim is to speed up the development, testing and industrial production of drones and of technologies used to counter them. Shorter development cycles, modular production methods and closer networking between manufacturers and users are among the focuses.

Participants also discussed detecting unknown drones, a shared situational picture and clearly defined responsibilities during incidents. The centre is intended to move research results into deployable systems faster and to strengthen cooperation between civilian and military actors.