German defense giant Rheinmetall has announced a collaboration with US software company Auterion to create common standards for controlling autonomous drones.
This was reported by The Financial Times.
"In the overall transition from manned to unmanned systems, it is very important that autonomous systems can interact with each other," said Auterion CEO Lorenz Mayer.
According to him, the company's operating system is already being actively used by Ukrainian drones.
"The Auterion system will unite different drones on a common platform and allow the customer to combine all drones on a common basis and to integrate different manufacturers into a common architecture," Mayer explained.
Timo Haas, Rheinmetall's Chief Digital Officer, added that there are currently more than "two hundred different unmanned aerial systems in Ukraine," but their compatibility is not always guaranteed, and military training remains expensive and complex.
"The development of a homogeneous operating system will ensure the efficient and scalable use of unmanned systems," Haas emphasized.
This initiative is part of a broader effort by the U.S. Department of Defense to develop an open-source standard for autonomous systems. The partnership between Rheinmetall and Auterion aims to implement a similar approach among NATO allies.
"If each NATO country has its own communication standard for drones, NATO will not be able to fight together," Mayer concluded.
Author: Danylo Pievchev