by Hartmut Bühl, Paris
On 10th April 2024, the European Defence Agency (EDA) took a big step forward in the early detection and reconnaissance of chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) incidents.
EDA and the five nations (Austria, France, Hungary, Croatia and Slovenia) participating in the PESCO project, Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear Surveillance as Service (CBRN SaaS) presented their impressive technological demonstrator at the military terrain of Allentsteig (Austria) to an international audience. This performance closed the programme’s Phase 1 of Initial Operational Capability (IOC).
The CBRN SaaS project
The objective of EDA’s Category B project, CBRN SaaS under PESCO, launched in 2018, was to develop and test a technological demonstrator together with contributing Member States and an Industrial Consortium. This PESCO project is closely linked to the CBRN Reconnaissance and Surveillance System
(CBRN RSS) project of the European Defence Industrial Development Programme (EDIDP).
Colonel (AT) Friedrich Aflenzer, Project Officer for CBRN Defence at EDA, explained: “Although the EU-led CBRN SaaS programme, jointly funded by the contributing Member States with €3,7m, and the EDIDP project with a funding of €6,7m, remain separate, they have cooperated to produce a single technological demonstrator.” He added that “compliance with the EU
operational objectives is the leitmotiv of our cooperation”.
The objective – a network of sensors
The overall objective of the project is to establish a network of sensors linking flying objects such as drones of all kinds and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), but also vehicles on the ground, so-called Unmanned Ground Systems (UGSs). “These unmanned sensors aim to heighten operational information shared across commands, troops position and the status of threats in each EU operation”, explained Colonel (GS, AT) Jürgen Schlechter, Commanding Officer at the Austrian CBRN Defence Centre, and responsible for the presentation at Allentsteig.
The presentation day
The presentation was specifically designed for CBRN commanders and capability planners at defence and other relevant ministries and aimed at giving them the opportunity to learn about unmanned CBRN defence and IT solutions. Industry partners in the project of the contributing Member States were authorised to expose their products at Allentsteig.
The visitors were given initial information during the bus trip from the famous Austrian Military Academy in Vienna to Allentsteig, a manoeuvre terrain of the Bundesheer, created before World War II, where the presentation was to take place. We were told that the military and staff from the industries present had worked all night to make the day a success. It should also be noted that the system was subjected to an intensive test phase throughout the previous week.
The operational use of CBRN SaaS/RSS
We then received more details on the project. The organiser highlighted that the Reconnaissance Surveillance System (RSS) project builds a modular purely European-built CBRN Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) solution for CBRN Detection, Identification and Monitoring (DIM) and that this creates the technical “glue” for a cooperative European-built CBRN ISR architecture. The solution is designed as a highly adaptive “system of systems” with a focus on system evolution and information flow. The system supports the iterative deployment and replaceability, as well as flexible use of available components for joint missions. In line with EU-wide initiatives, CBRN SaaS/RSS is designed around the EU’s cooperative initiatives like PESCO and EU Battlegroups and is based on the needs of Member States’ MoDs.
The scenario of the field exercise
Before the demonstration started, the briefing of the situation on the ground raised visitors’ expectations:
LOCATION: The village of STEINBACH1 is an important railway station for the deployment of troops. Dangerous goods and ammunition are transhipped and temporarily stored there.
FORCES: An infantry unit is in place to secure the area. The semi-autonomous CBRN Reconnaissance and Surveillance unit (CBRN RSU) is held in high readiness at an assembly area and is equipped with Large Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Systems (LUAVs), Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Systems (SUAVs), and Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGV).
SITUATION UPDATE: An attack with a radiological device has taken place. An ammonia container has been damaged and ammonia has been released.
MISSION FOR CBRN SaaS/RSS: Clarify the situation and determine the extent of the contamination. Take samples. Create a recognised CBRN picture.
Mission execution
Shortly after the explosion around the train station, observers followed a small UAV – the Elevox Tango VTOL CBRN platform from the Slovenian company OneDrone – measuring the extent of the disaster area. Thanks to its VTOL capabilities, the UAV descended close to the ground, using its sensors to retrieve the first data, which were delivered to the Data Fusion Centre.
After a first assessment, a large UAV – an Austrian Schiebel CAMCOPTER – flew over the terrain taking supplementary data and pictures which were delivered to the Data Fusion Cell.
Finally, a UGV from the Croatian company DOK-ING could be moved in situ to collect material necessary for the establishment of the recognised CBRN picture.
At the end of the day, my congratulations for a perfect demonstrator performance thanks to the Bundesheer as the leader, together with the Industrial Consortium and the guiding hand of the European Defence Agency.
