The European Hypersonic Defence Programme HYDEF kick-off and the first Core Stakeholder Workshop at the ESPOL (Escuela Politécnica del Ejército de Tierra), Madrid, in November 2023 has been followed by the second Core Stakeholder Workshop (CSW2) on February 13/14, 2024. This time, the participants met at the Diehl Defence site in Röthenbach/Germany.
The HYDEF Core Stakeholder Workshops aim to consolidate the specific customer requirements and to incorporate them into the development of a hypersonic air defence system. The European HYDEF consortium thereby ensures that all national requirements are considered in the conceptual design of an effective air defence system. The HYDEF interceptor uses proven existing as well as further developed technologies. This very low-risk approach allows nations to contribute their expertise and experience from already successful, existing systems and technologies. Nevertheless, further development activities will be required to make the good even better and to find new solutions for upcoming challenges. The high speeds of Mach 5 to Mach 15, in particular, require innovative approaches in certain areas. In the coming years, a robust system architecture shall be formed that is capable of neutralizing the emerging hypersonic threats of the coming decades. Due to the strong consortium and the special skills of the individual companies, the project team is able to develop a comprehensive solution to efficiently engage all known current or future threats. Europe, NATO partners and their populations need a resilient and reliable air defence system – that’s exactly what HYDEF stands for!
The HYDEF consortium is a genuine European industrial consortium that involves all participating companies fairly and on an equal basis. The goal is to establish a strong European defense industry that sustainably strengthens the defence capability of Europe and its allies. The consortium is open to involving all European nations and companies and taking their needs into account.
The HYDEF CSW2 was a very successful event with interesting discussions for all participants. One of the highlights was a factory tour to visit the IRIS-T SLM system, which is currently very successful in the protection of the Ukrainian population and demonstrates very well which competencies Diehl Defence in particular can contribute to the project.
It was agreed that the next Core Stakeholder Workshop will take place in June 2024 within the ongoing continuous alignment process between the Stakeholders and the HYDEF Consortium.
HYDEF – Working together for a safer tomorrow.
Links of interest: https://www.occar.int/news/hydef-second-core-stakeholder-workshop-takes-place-in-nuremberg–germany
