The OPERANT project officially commenced on May 1st, 2025, marking the beginning of a three-year mission to transform how European defense forces gain situational awareness in hostile environments. Funded by the European Defence Fund (EDF) with a total budget of nearly €4 million, OPERANT brings together six leading partners from Germany, the Netherlands, Austria, and Spain to create an innovative, high-endurance platform for persistent, real-time intelligence gathering.
In response to pressing challenges facing EU and NATO forces—such as declining recruitment, the need for automation, and increasing complexity of multi-domain operations—OPERANT focuses on digitalizing the “last mile” of the battlefield. The system will deploy modular, rocket-launched, unattended sensing platforms deep into adversary-controlled terrain. These platforms will form a distributed sensor network capable of performing advanced detection and classification tasks, supported by machine learning and human-in-the-loop decision-making.
The project’s Kick-Off Meeting, scheduled for May 21–22, will bring together consortium members to align technical objectives, plan collaborative efforts, and initiate development activities. OPERANT’s ultimate goal is to enhance mission effectiveness and force protection by enabling persistent ISTAR capabilities without placing human lives at risk—setting a new standard for next-generation defense technology in Europe.
OPERANT Project starts
1 May, 2025
