The hub will be established as part of Germany’s land forces, though it is expected to benefit the whole of the country’s military.  

The German Army is establishing a new hub for uncrewed systems to discover and accelerate its adoption, a 2 December Bundeswehr (German Armed Forces) announcement has revealed.  

Dubbed the ‘Birds Group’, the hub aims to provide an overview of the requirements, support tactical testing of uncrewed systems, and help disseminate new procedures and ideas across the armed forces, while improving the military’s coordination with external stakeholders.  

It will help “strengthen the Bundeswehr's culture of innovation through networking, expertise, and openness to new solutions”, the Bundeswehr said. 

“The entire Bundeswehr is expected to benefit from this, as successful approaches from within the troops will become more readily apparent and can then be transferred to other areas”, the Bundeswehr emphasised.  

The Birds Group will not replace leadership roles in the army but will instead encourage communication between existing leadership roles and stakeholders while facilitating “the rapid deployment of new technologies, procedures, and ideas”. 

Germany, like many other countries in Europe, is investing significantly in bolstering its drone capabilities. Recognising this, new companies are forming and clustering in the country to meet this need. Namely, Quantum Systems and Stark Defence.  

In December, Quantum Systems announced it struck a EUR100 million deal with a Ukrainian defence start-up to develop thousands of drones in the country. The Ukrainian firm Frontline Robotics, established in 2022, will partner with Quantum Systems to produce drones at a new factory in southern Germany. 

All these companies will likely be actively involved in supporting and engaging with the new hub Birds Group.