MBDA and a 23-partner European consortium completed final demonstrations of the MarsEUs programme at the Belgian King Albert camp in Marche-en-Famenne, marking what the company described as a key step toward collaborative beyond line of sight capability for ground combat.
Launched in 2022 with EU funding of 25 million euros, MarsEUs is the follow on to the EDIDP LynkEUs effort and aims to extend beyond line of sight technology for battlefield effects, according to the company.
The project brought together 11 countries and a broad industrial and academic group to integrate MBDA’s AKERON MP and AKERON LP missiles on multiple turrets and carriers and to link those weapons into a battle management system and an effects management system, according to the company.
The consortium staged a full demonstration that combined vehicles, dismounted infantry, sensors, drones and munitions in a realistic scenario to show coordinated, indirect engagements, according to the company. Organisers said the event included simulated firings beyond direct line of sight and live sensor integration to illustrate the potential of collaborative close combat architectures, according to the company.
Project partners listed in the programme material include national research and industry names from Belgium, Cyprus, France and Sweden and a spread of subcontractors across Europe, according to the company. The demonstrations were attended by representatives from the European Commission, PESCO BLOS and PESCO armed forces members as well as observers from other European militaries, the company stated.
Organisers say the work now moves into a successor phase called AktarEUs, running from the end of 2025 to 2028, which will focus on raising system maturity and demonstrating integrated BLOS capability across land and naval platforms with a tactical network, EMS integration and a training system, according to the company.
The programme documentation frames the effort as an effort to increase European autonomy in controlling ground combat effects and in maturing software and systems for collaborative engagements, according to the company. All capability and performance claims in the consortium material are presented as the project partners’ assessments, and should be read as such, according to the company.
OK hang on a minute. MARSEU, BLOS, EDIDP, AKERONMP, AKERONLP, PESCO BLOS and PESCO and a side of EMS.
Can anyone suggest a site for Halfwits please ?
One of the best teams to never win the Conference League in my view. Sadly all down to the two players not mentioned.
Hehehe. That’s VARS not MARS !
@George if articles are acronym stuffed, particularly with unusual acronyms like this one is, then there should either be a link or it should be expanded in brackets.
Otherwise, articles like this are meaningless to the political classes we all want to read and understand..
Also that sentence reads like Sir Humphrey’s famous line….
“ Humphrey: We’d have to get clearances!
Hacker: Who from? Humphrey: [Clearly grasping] … Security implications! Foreign powers, national interests. We have to consult our allies, top brass. NATO, SEATO, Moscow! Hacker: Moscow?!
Humphrey: Not Moscow. I didn’t mean Moscow.”
Exactly, sometimes I think I’m doing the Times, Cryptic Crossword on here !!!!
Only just got to know what M8, LOL, OMFG and RAOTFLMAO, INIT BRO.
Er, … Well … Quite.