Counter-drone defence for Belgium: Cobbs Belux, Anduril Industries and Nokia form consortium

Cobbs Belux, Anduril Industries and Nokia Belgium recently announced a joint counter-drone consortium in Belgium for counter-unmanned aircraft systems (C-UAS). It is to develop and deploy advanced capabilities to counter unmanned aircraft. The initiative aims to protect military sites and critical infrastructure nationwide while strengthening Belgian and European defence capabilities.

In their cooperation, the companies combine autonomous defence technology with advanced, secure communications infrastructure. The result is to be a sustainable C-UAS capability designed, developed and operated in Belgium itself, able to evolve in step with emerging threats. A press release states:

This approach supports long-term technological resilience, drives continuous innovation and strengthens the national defence industrial ecosystem— Consortium press release

New threat landscape for military bases

In the past, the defence of military bases was mainly directed against aircraft and missiles. Increasingly, however, they are exposed to small, low-cost and autonomous aerial systems carrying sensor or effector technology, often capable of real-time surveillance or causing massive disruption. These systems change rapidly: adversaries adapt their flight profiles, frequencies, swarm behaviour and tactics faster than conventional procurement cycles can keep up.

According to the consortium, a robust C-UAS solution therefore cannot be a one-off solution. Instead, a fundamentally new approach to how defence capabilities are designed, deployed and updated is needed. Brian Moran, Vice President Europe at Anduril Industries, said:

Anduril has been deploying software-defined counter-drone systems in real operational environments since 2019 and continuously developing them. The consortium brings this experience to Belgium and creates a capability that is locally controlled, continuously updated and designed to stay ahead of the threat— Brian Moran, Vice President Europe at Anduril Industries

Software-centric counter-drone defence with human control

Because the consortium's solution is software-centric, it is intended to respond quickly to new drone threats. At its core is an intelligence layer for command and control (C2). It supports advanced real-time data fusion that merges sensor data from multiple sources – radar, optical, radio frequency (RF) and acoustic sensors – into a single situational picture with autonomous classification. Via the C2 component, a single operator can control several counter-drone systems, while critical decisions remain under human control.

The system uses the Belgian defence communications networks supported by Nokia. Sensors, effectors and communication components are thus linked into a coherent, layered defence that meets NATO counter-drone requirements. Thanks to a modular, scalable architecture, new capabilities can be added, including through Nokia's extensive dual-use R&D facilities in Belgium and Europe. This is intended to ensure operational readiness in evolving threat environments.

Michaël Rummens, CEO of Cobbs Belux, puts the project into context:

For Cobbs, this is about far more than just technology. It is about ensuring that Belgium has sovereign means to protect its own territory— Michaël Rummens, CEO of Cobbs Belux