Christian Bendl
Editor
Christian Bendl loves putting equipment through its paces. When he is not writing test reports on his own bushcraft site, in the mountains or at the shooting range, he works on feature reports. He is then particularly interested in connections, lines of development and people.
Latest stories14 stories
Unmanned ground vehicles with a driver's seat: Eiselin Landsystems shows Sand-X DOV at the KSK symposium
Drive it crewed, control it remotely from a backpack or let it run autonomously: at the KSK symposium, Eiselin Landsystems uses the Sand-X DOV to show how unmanned ground vehicles for the “last 100 miles” can be designed – operable from minus 45 to plus 50 degrees Celsius.
Counter-UAS and swarm reconnaissance: Autonomous Teaming Solutions shows three systems at KSK Symposium
A reconnaissance swarm, a weapon turret against small aerial targets and vehicle protection against FPV drones: ATS, founded in Munich in 2024, equips purchased platforms for reconnaissance and counter-UAS with software, sensors and AI.
Drone production in Europe: Highcat presents modular systems and microfactories at KSK Symposium
Moving away from Asian supply chains: Highcat wants the hardware, batteries, electronics and software of unmanned systems to be made largely in Europe. How the German company plans to scale drone production and what is planned for Ukraine.
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UGV for logistics: Uncrew Robotics presents the electric IC 12 D at the KSK Symposium
From agriculture to the military: at the request of the Norwegian Army, Uncrew Robotics is adapting its UGV IC 12 D for resupply. A payload of up to 2,000 kilograms, electric drive and steering without a turning circle are meant to make transport quiet and capable off-road.
SCILT counter-drone system: Mehler interview on close-range protection against drones
SCILT counter-drone system: Mehler Protection Platform Armour is developing an active hard-kill solution for close-range protection against drones and loitering munition. Denis Weber explains the gap in the “last layer of defence”, the platforms and the planned AI-supported automation.
Drone swarms in urban operations: NIKE-ROBComm networks drones and ground robots
The research project NIKE-ROBComm aimed to develop robust, autonomous communication and navigation for drone and robot swarms in urban environments. Project manager Christian Raffelsberger talks about goals, challenges and possible military applications.
Rüdiger Skrzipietz strengthens Mehler Protection Platform Armour leadership as CSO
People and appointments: Rüdiger Skrzipietz brings more than two decades of experience in the security and defence industry. From 1 July 2026 he will be responsible for sales and growth at Mehler Protection Platform Armour, while Christian Vahldiek keeps technology.
Satellite communications for tactical UAVs: Gilat shows Viper Ka at Eurosatory 2026
Flat, fully digital and without moving parts: with the Viper Ka, Gilat subsidiary Raysat brings Ka-band satellite communications to tactical drones. The focus is on multi-orbit operation against latency, economical power management and scalability.
Drone production at the front: how Nordyn is changing war logistics with mobile micro-factories
Nordyn is moving drone production, including assembly and maintenance, into mobile micro-factories on vehicles and trailers. Head of engineering Vitalii Pogrebniak explains why distributed units are harder to hit – and where the real bottleneck lies.
Loitering drone from Germany: Xynetic bets on speed and modularity
At DroneVation & Defence 2026, Xynetic co-founder and CEO Andreas Stiebner spoke about the loitering drone XLM 100 Minotaurus, its modular design, integration into existing systems and secure European supply chains.
Counter-drone defence at low cost: start-up Riseport
Riseport Europe is a German start-up developing low-cost counter-drone solutions. In an interview, managing director Emanuel Aprill explains the Argos system, its passive detection and shotgun-based effector, and the company's plans for series production.
Civilian drones in support of Austria: inside the Drohnenkorps Österreich
Martin Held is a former Jagdkommando soldier, trained airline pilot, founder and CEO of drone service provider Hero Aero – and now initiator of an association with big plans: an interface for civilian drones between authorities, emergency organisations and drone pilots.