AI backbone for FCAS operational

The HIS consortium and partners provide the German Armed Forces and industry with a horizontal AI development platform for FCAS (AI-backbone) just nine months after contract start.

Munich, May 29, 2024 – The HIS consortium is proud to reach a critical milestone with the first release of the AI backbone in just nine months. The HIS consortium consists of Helsing GmbH and Schönhofer Sales and Engineering GmbH (SSE), a 100% subsidiary of Rohde & Schwarz GmbH and Co. KG. As a software platform for the comprehensible and high-performance development of artificial intelligence (AI), the AI backbone is a crucial component for the Future Combat Air System (FCAS). In the German initiative “National Research and Technology (R&T) Project NGWS,” the cross-sectional platform is now released and already being used by over 50 pilot users from a total of ten organizations for the development of future-oriented technologies.

The AI Backbone is the first software platform that enables collaborative AI workflows across organizations in the military sector. The platform ensures standardized procedures and open, interoperable architectures. In doing so, it overcomes the status quo, which consists of highly manual and fragmented processes with numerous interfaces. The AI Backbone now creates a standardized path to military AI through a centralized platform that ensures the data security and sovereignty of every user. Additionally, the software development kit's combined with an open architecture and transparent deployment provide for seamless integration that increases flexibility and efficiency across the MiLOps workflow.

“With the first release, an important milestone in the implementation of the AI-backbone has been reached,” says Stephanie Lingemann, program director and head of the air domain at Helsing. “We are proud to have advanced the AI Backbone from the initial idea to implementation. The development of AI is now being supported in the ongoing phase of the national R&T projects and a decisive horizontal contribution is being made to enabling the NGWS.”

“The use of AI will be critical to FCAS air superiority. AI accelerates the evaluation of sensor data, the planning of missions and the use of effectors,” explains Frank Schrudde, Managing Director of SSE. “As an innovative, long-standing partner of the Bundeswehr, we bring vigor to the research landscape. We are proud to have brought the agility of a medium-sized company to the project in collaboration with our partners. We were able to deploy the first demonstrator in an extremely short time of 9 months.”

The next stage of development will be reached with the second release, expected for November 2024: enabling standardized, collaborative AI workflows in highly sensitive environments while adding additional capability components.

About Helsing

Helsing is a next-generation key technology and software company. Focus: critical AI capabilities for the security and defense sector. Helsing was founded as an owner-managed technology company with the sole business purpose of developing and deploying AI capabilities in the security sector. As a European technology leader, Helsing's mission is to empower democratic societies to make sovereign decisions and enforce their own ethical standards.

For more information contact:

Dr. Charlotte Weil von der Ahe
Director Communications and Government Affairs

Tel: +49(0)151-245 023 72
E-mail: charlotte.weil@helsing.ai