AMSTERDAM — The Dutch military has announced a major financial commitment to drone technology, pledging tens of millions of euros over three years to work alongside Dutch defense tech company Intelic on building advanced drone software.
Both the Dutch Defence Ministry and Intelic stated their shared goal is to develop a common software platform capable of allowing unmanned systems built by different manufacturers to function together seamlessly on the battlefield.
Junior defence minister Derk Boswijk pointed to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine as a key lesson in modern warfare. “Ukraine teaches us that not only the hardware, but also the software is of great importance,” he said. “Making different drone systems work together makes the fight easier.”
The new partnership will be built on top of Intelic’s existing NEXUS command-and-control software, which the company says has already seen real-world use on the battlefield in Ukraine since last year.
Intelic CEO Maurits Korthals Altes highlighted the rapidly expanding drone industry across Europe as a driving force behind the need for interoperability. “Europe now has more than 700 drone manufacturers, and that number continues to grow,” he said. “For defence organisations, the challenge is no longer access to technology, but ensuring those technologies can operate together.”
