Two days, twenty presentations and 250 participants – a summary.
After a break of one and a half years, the important tri-national armament program “New Generation Weapon System in a FCAS” could be examined in technically appealing depth from different perspectives within the framework of an expert symposium during the last two days.
It was not only about questions of technical realization, or which industrial company has the best and most sustainable technological solution, but also about the topic of artificial intelligence in the use of weapon systems and the associated ethical issues.
The “FCAS – AG Technikverantwortung” working group is concerned with the technical implementation of ethical and legal principles in a major defense policy project from the outset. This is primarily in order to avoid having to wait until a weapon system is introduced before having discussions about its ethical acceptability. However, this is also a discussion that is already highly controversial in society today.
While the first day dealt with topics related to the “New Generation Fighter (NGF) subproject” toward the end, day 2 of the summit began with technical presentations on the “Remote Carrier” subproject and on activities related to the NGF engine.
This was then followed by a presentation section that took a closer look at the “heart” of the NGWS in FCAS, the Combat Cloud. Collaboration across all domains, that was the dominant theme here. And this is where one of the questions from the first day came to the fore again – what is actually involved in an FCAS? A question that can be answered in a simplified way with “everything that contributes to an air combat domain”.
The topic of sensor technology rounded off the event as a whole. The importance of networking sensors was addressed – as a “gamechanger” in future operational scenarios, so to speak.
In retrospect, we were able to experience two particularly interesting and informative days of a symposium.
The cpmTEAM would like to thank all participants for their goal-oriented discussions and technical contributions.
A special thanks goes to the speakers from the BMVg, the official sector, the Air Force, research and industry. Without their contributions, this event would not have been as successful as it was.
We all look forward to seeing you again at the 4th National FCAS Summit on November 29-30, 2023.
Until then, we wish all participants much success in their project work and look forward to the results achieved then.
