ÜBERLINGEN, Germany – Last week, the HYDEF Consortium successfully achieved its last technical milestone, the Preliminary Requirements Review (PRR) of its system against hypersonic threats, held at the premises of Diehl Defence in Überlingen.
This meeting, with the participation of OCCAR HYDEF PD, representatives from the Participating States and the whole HYDEF Consortium, was the culmination of an outstanding effort over the preceding months to deliver and review 123 documents covering the system and subsystems specifications, design and test reports, and to perform functional and environmental tests on prototypes and models. During the meeting, the attendees were able to inspect prototypes of the avionics bay or processing electronics and models at different scales of the kill vehicle, and watch live functional demonstrations of optoelectronics or high-speed recordings of functional tests from stage separation system or the canister, among others. The presentations by the technical leaders were supported by simulations at different levels (operational, system and subsystem). Most of these presentations were delivered jointly by several participants, demonstrating the high degree of collaboration and efficiency reached by the Consortium.
OCCAR HYDEF PD highlighted its satisfaction with the results, achieved on due date and above expectations, and encouraged the Consortium to maintain its “HYDEF spirit”, a feeling of collaboration and trust among all the participants and stakeholders, which has been key for success. National representatives continued providing valuable feedback that will be considered by the industry.
With this landmark, the HYDEF Consortium sets itself as the most advanced initiative in Europe to obtain the capability of deterrence against hypersonic threats, which will be a key element for the next generation of multilayered Integrated Air and Missile Defence system. The Consortium is ready to capitalise this huge investment in the next phase of the project, within the framework of the European Defence Fund call EDF-2026-DA-ACC-AIRDEF-EATMI.
On behalf of the HYDEF Consortium, SMS wishes to thank European Commission, OCCAR, national representatives, beneficiaries and subcontractors for their trust and effort, and commits, together with its partners, to set HYDEF as an example of the benefits that collaboration and partnership will bring to the defence of European values.
