Cyber Innovation Hub of the Bundeswehr (CIHBw)

The Cyber Innovation Hub of the Bundeswehr (CIHBw) was founded in 2017 as a pilot project of the Federal Ministry of Defence and has since been made permanent as the armed forces' innovation unit, organisationally anchored in the federal IT service provider BWI GmbH. Based in Berlin, it acts as an interface between the Bundeswehr, start-ups and industry, testing new technologies quickly with troops and preparing them for adoption.

Drones and drone defence have become a major focus. Projects presented by the hub include an AI-guided interceptor drone with a 3D-printed airframe designed to destroy hostile drones by impact, and a magnetometer-equipped drone for mine detection developed with a company from Essen. In October 2024 Defence Minister Boris Pistorius visited the hub to review its work on drone use and counter-drone technology.

Through its Spark Cells programme, the CIHBw supports small decentralised innovation teams in the units. Soldiers from formations such as Airborne Engineer Company 270 and Paratrooper Regiment 31 have built, tested and refined their own FPV drones using 3D printers and commercially available components, with the aim of enabling troops to adapt and repair small unmanned systems themselves.