SWARMER

The SWARMER project responds to the growing operational need for unmanned aerial systems (UAS) that can operate reliably in GNSS-denied or contested environments, a defining characteristic of modern conflict zones. As adversaries increasingly employ sophisticated jamming and spoofing techniques, conventional drones depending on satellite navigation become vulnerable, compromising mission success and force protection.

SWARMER (Swarming Autonomy in Non-permissive Environments) aims to deliver a new generation of autonomous drone swarms capable of navigating, coordinating, and executing missions without access to GNSS signals. By integrating multi-sensor perception, advanced data fusion, edge AI processing, and resilient swarm behaviours, SWARMER enables drones to adapt dynamically to complex conditions and maintain operational effectiveness under electronic warfare threats.

Aligned with the EDF-2024-LS-RA-CHALLENGE-SENS-RADNP call (Multi-sensor integration for robust autonomous drone navigation – Participation in a technological challenge), the project provides a holistic navigation and autonomy platform supporting reconnaissance, situational assessment, and coordinated manoeuvres. SWARMER fully supports several 2023 EU Capability Development Priorities, including Ground Combat, Military Mobility, Infrastructure Protection, and Airborne Command and Control, and is strongly backed by the Ministries of Defence of Greece, Poland, Cyprus, and Ireland, which recognise its strategic relevance and operational applicability.

PPHS's role:

The Polish Platform for Homeland Securityplays a pivotal and strategic role in SWARMER, ensuring coherence between the project’s technical development, operational objectives, and evaluation under the technological challenge framework. The organisation will:

• Coordinate participation in the four challenge campaigns, overseeing preparation, alignment of technical work with challenge requirements, and managing submission of systems for experimental assessments.
• Lead communication, visibility, and dissemination activities, ensuring that project outcomes are clearly communicated across defence stakeholders, ministries, and EU-level bodies;
• Manage stakeholder engagement, building and maintaining a community of defence practitioners, experts, and operational end-users to support knowledge sharing and promote uptake of SWARMER technologies.
• Support knowledge generation for the initial evaluation campaign and contribute actively to all subsequent challenge campaigns by providing methodological input, performance monitoring, and lessons-learned synthesis.
• Ensure cross-cutting coherence related to ethics, security, and defence-relevant compliance, supporting the project’s alignment with EU defence priorities and national operational needs.

Get in touch with us at projekty@ppbw.pl