Forum Innovation Défense 2025: KNDS presents its sovereign innovations to prepare the future of land defense

• Dronised Functions Kit, robotics; KNDS showcases the future of land defense;
• From the effector to the warhead via the launch kit, KNDS France innovates for the future of loitering ammunition;
• KNDS demonstrates its mastery of robotisation for the armed forces and its latest innovations in counter-mining

Innovation and modularity: the Dronised Functions Kit and SIMPULSE

KNDS France presents its Dronised Functions Kit. This modular kit enables additional carriage of loitering ammunition or reconnaissance drones, as well as their computing and cooling equipment onboard vehicles through the addition of a 2.5 m-wide compartment capable of carrying between 2 and 8 drones. Designed entirely with internal funding, the Dronised Functions Kit is proof of the agility of the industrial tool and KNDS France’s capacity for innovation. Indeed, 9 months of development were sufficient for an initial presentation to the armed forces. Versatile, the kit is designed to integrate onto all types of platforms, land-based or amphibious, and thus enables dronised missions to be conducted under constant protection from the transport vehicle’s armour, without exposing operators.

In order to enable the operation of several drones in networks, KNDS France has also developed, in partnership with SIMPULSE, an industrial specialist in radio connections with drones, a radio link capable of simultaneously connecting several drones, robots and operators (known as a “mesh”). Operators and their systems are linked within the same network, supported by an enhanced waveform (Software Defined Radio) which facilitates link resistance in jammed environments. The system is resistant to jamming notably thanks to integrated frequency hopping. Resilient, its native performance makes the solution particularly relevant for transmission applications in urban environments, or electronically protected areas, against drone incursions.

These innovations can be found at the KNDS innovation corner on the GICAT stand.

KNDS positions itself at the heart of tomorrow’s military robotics

KNDS showcases its wide range of expertise in robotics for all operational contexts. Thus, KNDS France and KNDS France Robotics won the first circuit of the third edition of the CoHoMa (COpération HOmme MAchine) challenge, alongside Safran Electronics and Defense, Shield Robotics and Magellium within the AEGIS team. Organised in spring 2025 by the Battle Lab Terre, the objective was to carry out an operational mission based on land and aerial robotic platforms and highlighting human-machine collaboration. Through its participation in CoHoMa, KNDS is fully committed to innovation to build the future of land robotics.

DEMOCLES paves the way for tomorrow’s counter-mining

Finally, in view of the observed intensification of mining operations in high-intensity conflicts, KNDS France is participating, within a Temporary Grouping of Companies (GME) with THALES, TEXELIS and ARQUUS, in the Agile Operation for the Stimulation of Innovation applied to Systems (OASIS) DEMOCLES. This upstream studies contract from the DGA aims to develop and increase the maturity of technological building blocks intended to enhance the Army’s counter-mining capability (demining, IED jamming). Detection, verification, decoying and neutralization are among the areas that will fall within the evolving technological scope of this contract, which could include new solutions throughout the 7-year lifespan of the project. Ultimately, these building blocks will notably contribute to improving the counter-mining capabilities of the GRIFFON and SERVAL vehicles of the Army engineer units, as well as robotic detection elements such as the NERVA range from KNDS France Robotics. KNDS presents DEMOCLES alongside the members of the GME at the Engagement and Resilience corner.