Cognitive Electronic Combat - the joint solution from Saab and Helsing

Saab and Helsing are jointly offering a future-proof, AI-based, German solution to enable the Eurofighter for electronic combat. A near-real-time picture of the situation as a basis for leadership and effectiveness is made possible by precise sensors, digital signal processing and AI-based evaluation in all phases of the mission cycle. The use of commercially available and proven hardware components ensures that the Eurofighter will assume the ECR role before 2030. At the same time, the Eurofighter is being prepared with the development of a national software stack for the cognitive EC.

Applications and threats in the electromagnetic spectrum (EMS) are usually not directly perceptible to humans. However, our way of life, economic power and security are increasingly dependent on the unrestricted use of the EMS. In the military context, reconnaissance, command and effectiveness depend on this. At the same time, opposing forces should be made more difficult or denied the use of the EMS. The struggle for dominance in EMS is also known as electronic combat (EK).

Current challenges in electronic combat

The vast majority of Luftwaffe platforms rely on EK systems, which have not undergone significant further development since their introduction. However, while 20 years ago it was still sufficient to clarify a few signal parameters through measurements and to compare them with a database, today we observe emitters that operate extremely flexibly in terms of their electromagnetic parameters in a networked network. Anyone who works here with classic, static systems loses leadership skills without a clear picture of the situation.

Because: Statically programmed EK systems are reaching their limits earlier and earlier when it comes to identifying and classifying these highly agile threat systems. With outdated sensor technology, analog signal transmission and limited computing power, current and future threats in the EMS can neither be clearly identified nor successfully combated. This seriously jeopardizes success in future missions as well as your own survivability.

The armed forces must meet these challenges in a timely manner: from reconnaissance – i.e. a near-real-time picture of the situation over the entire course of the mission – to effective leadership and adaptive action. This requires state-of-the-art hardware that is available on the market – but also powerful software that enables continuous growth in capabilities.

Cognitive Electronic Combat Requirements

The armed forces need the necessary skills for the world of cognitive EK. In the cognitive EK, AI-supported mission modules assist with "cognitive" tasks that were previously left to humans, e.g. through an assisted situation assessment, the handling of previously unknown emitter behavior or through optimized target information for effectors. Cognitive here means a continuous processing of new information, the observation of one's own actions and an adaptive adjustment. The AI ​​support allows an acceleration, but above all a qualitative improvement of all steps of the management process. This relieves the operator. Also in the downstream mission evaluation, AI technology supports the correct assignment of EK data and thus constantly improves your own situation assessment for future missions.

Mission success in the cognitive EK is also based on the latest sensor electronics: in order to master the EK, hardware and software must be continuously developed and tested at the highest technical level. Interruptions in technological development can hardly be made up for. Inadequate skills in the EK resulting from development breaks are already restricting possible courses of action.

The following applies: Without precise digital sensor technology as a basis, there can be no information superiority and dominance in the EK. In the end, any effector is only as accurate as the target information available to the operator. The situation picture is the basis of every decision and effect - if you don't see and hear precisely, you can't lead or work effectively.

Enormous amounts of data are generated in advanced EK systems using state-of-the-art methods for signal detection, classification, identification and localization. Their processing makes the EK a “natural” use case for AI methods such as machine learning. State-of-the-art AI modules optimize the use of your own sensor resources and effectors. It is possible to react to the opposing behavior in an adaptive and scalable manner. In addition, AI algorithms have a high sensitivity to identify emitters that were previously difficult to detect through highly granular description. Furthermore, the AI ​​approach also offers improved handling of previously unknown emitters - a decisive advantage in dynamic scenarios with an opponent who is technologically at eye level. Indispensable in the future: AI support along all phases of the OODA loop from Observe, Orient, Decide and Act.

Cognitive EK, in which software and, in particular, self-learning algorithms play a central role, requires a holistic answer. This can only be achieved with the help of a coordinated hardware and software stack, which includes both airborne systems for the EK and their ground-based components. AI technology is used in particular within the so-called mission modules on the edge (platform-related) and in ground-based evaluation programs.

Embedding state-of-the-art AI technology within existing systems requires an AI and EK infrastructure that allows for seamless verification and traceability. Associated in the EMS as well as kinetic effectors can be seen as modular building blocks in this holistic approach, which benefit significantly from the AI ​​technology in their effectiveness.

Team Innovation - the optimal combination of the latest EK and AI technology

The two companies Saab and Helsing offer the Air Force marketable, superior and future-proof solutions. In this way, an optimal combination of a marketable, high-precision EK system and leading AI technology is created for the Eurofighter, which will dominate the cognitive EK.

The partnership between Saab and Helsing can draw on Saab's experience from more than 60 years of developing EK systems for flying platforms. Saab's newest product family Arexis is Europe's most advanced EK system for airborne platforms and is able to control the entire EMS of a carrier platform, including information processing and control along the sensor-to-effector chain. In addition to high-precision interferometers for broadband reconnaissance, it includes modular AESA antennas based on gallium nitride, can integrate an on-board radar as a sensor and effector, include sensors for missile approach warning or act as a data link.

Saab's Arexis EK system also serves as an Emitter Locator System (ELS) and can provide precise coordinates of threat systems. In close cooperation with Airbus, Saab has already fundamentally modernized significant parts of the EK systems on the Tornado and the Tornado ECR, thereby successfully demonstrating its integration expertise. Now the principle applies: If the Eurofighter ECR is to replace the Tornado ECR, then the Eurofighter's EK system must also be modernized in order to be able to assume this role. In addition, Saab also offers a broad portfolio of jamming solutions that enable the most demanding Electronic Attack (EA) missions once the Eurofighter is equipped for the EK.

As a key technology and software company of the latest generation, Helsing brings crucial and state-of-the-art AI skills to the partnership, especially in the area of ​​signal processing and EK. Helsing's AI-supported software enables highly granular signal analysis and trains cognitive EC. This is the only way to react adaptively to increasingly dynamic or previously unknown emitters and situations and to optimize one's own effect.

In addition to the airborne parts, Helsing also supplies the necessary ground-based infrastructure. This makes Helsing a reliable partner for building holistic hardware and software stacks - both as part of retrofits and for new platforms and systems. In this way, AI technology is made available on the edge via user-specific mission modules. This allows for continuous short-term skill growth—a crucial skill for cognitive EK.

The marketable, sovereign and future-proof solution

In a strategic collaboration, Saab and Helsing are providing the Luftwaffe with critical capabilities that will enable the Eurofighter for EK before 2030. They combine state-of-the-art, market-available EK systems and leading software and AI capabilities for intelligence, leadership, impact and support. Through an IP transfer to locations in Germany and the development of a national software stack for the EK, national key technology is secured using the best European EK systems. With the Eurofighter, the Air Force can confidently and effectively meet current and future challenges in electronic warfare.

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