Defence and Security

F35 Lightning II (JSF), F-002 (RNLAF) in flight
Defence and Security

21 May 2024

NLR Portfolio: Innovations for Military Applications

Royal NLR has been an ambitious, knowledge-based organisation for over a century, with a deep-seated desire to keep innovating. Our knowledge and expertise have made us one of the driving forces in the aerospace sector, both in our own country and abroad. We have over 100 years of experience in the defence industry and is […]
Aviation resilience to GNSS frequency jamming and cyber threats.
Defence and Security

25 January 2024

R&D case: Resilience to GNSS frequency jamming and cyber threats (AIRING)

The challenge The AIRING project has investigated the increased risk of interference and spoofing for aviation, and the technical ways it can be detected or mitigated. A concept was proposed to combine technology and operational procedures, in such a way that GNSS interference can be detected and dealt with in an effective and safe way. […]
Responsive collaborative small satellite constellations for dedicated applications
Space Technology

25 January 2024

Space as critical infrastructure

Not a luxury, but a necessity: the Dutch aerospace industry is pushing for a long-term aerospace agenda. A good initiative for further innovation and substantial investment to maintain and strengthen its competitive position. Aerospace technologies help solve many societal, scientific and economic challenges. Whether it concerns monitoring climate change, ensuring social safety or providing communication […]
SHOL: Landing of NH90 Helicopter at sea
Defence and Security

15 December 2023

Landing a helicopter safely at sea

The Dutch Ship Helicopter Operational Limitations (SHOL) test methodology assists successful NH90 sea trials on board a German naval support vessel. It offers an effective approach to exploring operational capability for maritime operations involving naval helicopters. In March 2023, the German Bundeswehr evaluated their NH90 Sea Lion operational capabilities on the combat support ship (EGV […]
Defence and Security

07 December 2023

Automatic object detection for counter-improvised explosive devices

This video demonstrates the results of a NATO-funded project on Automatic Object Detection (AOD) in military search operations. Multiple organizations have worked on the detection algorithms; NLR took the lead in integrating these models into an operational concept. The so-called HoloLens provides the search team with visual cues about relevant items that may otherwise not […]
Defence and Security

07 September 2023

The MilSpace2 satellite system for military use

The MilSpace2 satellite system will demonstrate the military use of a microsatellite spectrum monitoring system. The mission will build on experience from the Norwegian NorSat-3 and the Dutch BRIK-II missions. This is the first time Norway and the Netherlands launch a constellation of satellites that will fly in tandem, which means the involved parties gain […]
Responsive collaborative small satellite constellations for dedicated applications
Defence and Security

25 August 2023

REACTS selected for funding by EDF

The European Defence Fund (EDF) has recently declared that the consortium known as REACTS – Responsive European Architecture for Space- is set to receive funding in the Space category. This financial allocation will empower REACTS to establish a Resilient Network of Responsive Space System (RSS) Capabilities dedicated to enhancing European Defence. Following the second call for […]
NLR X-Lab: frontrunner in augmented reality in MRO aerospace
Data Science and Engineering

05 April 2023

Balanced use of artificial intelligence

Technological development has always been extremely important to the armed forces. Its influence can be seen in weapons, sensor and platform systems, in soldiers’ equipment, in all forms of military actions and within the Defence Ministry’s own organisational operations. The role of artificial intelligence (AI) is increasing too. For the Defence Ministry, AI is an […]
Defence and Security

03 January 2023

Norwegian-Dutch nanosatellites successfully launched

Two Norwegian-Dutch nanosatellites were successfully launched today. “Birkeland” and “Huygens” were placed in orbit around the earth by the company SpaceX. MilSpace2 is a cooperation project between the Netherlands Ministry of Defence, the Norwegian Ministry of Defence, the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment (FFI), the Netherlands Aerospace Centre (NLR) and the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific […]