idw – Informationsdienst Wissenschaft
Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
Start-up pace for EloKa high-tech
The SPECTRA Challenge has been decided: on 4 December 2025, the winning teams in the Praxistrack and Moonshot Track were honoured at the test site in Erding. In a joint innovation format organised by Cyberagentur, the Bundeswehr Cyber Innovation Hub (CIHBw) and the Innovation Laboratory System Soldier (InnoLabSysSdt), start-ups, companies and research teams demonstrated under real conditions how unmanned systems can become more robust against attacks in the electromagnetic spectrum. The challenge showed how high implementation speed and close cooperation between innovation units and end users enable new solutions for electronic warfare (EloKa).
Final on the test field: two winners, one common aim
In the practical track, ESPARGOS prevailed over Raydiant RF and DREMIAN. In the visionary Moonshot track, Clausthal University won ahead of FATAL Industries and ACTRANS GmbH. Both groups impressed the jury with technologically sophisticated approaches to protecting unmanned systems in an electromagnetically contested environment.
The solutions that have now been awarded prizes are the result of a multi-stage competition: in the first phase alone, 46 qualified submissions were received from academia, industry and the start-up scene – with participants from a total of 17 countries and entries in a practical and a visionary track.
"SPECTRA is a strategic tool for identifying innovative and disruptive approaches in a short period of time. The format brings together end users, start-ups, industry and research in a structured manner and generates solutions that are directly oriented towards real, application-relevant needs," says Dr Christoph Hof, head of the Cyberagentur's Dresden project office.
From idea to field test in just a few months
The SPECTRA Challenge was designed as a joint instrument of the three innovation units: the Cyberagentur sets the strategic framework and research agenda, the Cyber Innovation Hub of the German Armed Forces contributes user perspectives from the troops and start-up experience, and the System Soldier Innovation Laboratory of the newly established Innovation Centre of the German Armed Forces ensures realistic test conditions and operational proximity.
Only a few months passed between the start of the concept, pitch days, practice week and finale. This "start-up-typical pace" illustrates that innovation competitions in the alliance of the Cyber Agency, CIHBw and InnoLabSysSdt enable a significantly accelerated implementation of ideas into experimental prototypes – right up to operational scenarios of electronic warfare.
A particular attraction for start-ups and young companies was that they were able to not only present their own developments in theory, but also demonstrate their capabilities in a real test field in a contested environment – in interaction with jammers, sensors and effector technologies. Added to this was the chance to win prize money for both tracks and the opportunity for direct exchange with operators and end users from the defence industry.
Highly attractive for start-ups and research teams
The large number of qualified submissions and the international composition of the groups showed that securing unmanned systems against jamming, spoofing and other electronic attack patterns is recognised as a key area of future cyber security.
"SPECTRA exemplifies our approach: open to technology, eager to experiment, realistic. No PowerPoint showcases – we want solutions that prove themselves in the field," said Dr. Christoph Hof. "Above all, we wanted to gain insights, because the challenge serves as a radar for us to identify new technologies, new talent and new approaches at an early stage."
The challenge aimed to finance concepts and technologies that make unmanned systems more resilient and ensure their operational capability even in complex electromagnetic threat situations – from prototypes that can be realised in the short term to medium-term technology approaches in the Moonshot Track.
Three innovation units – a bridge to practical application
In addition to Dr Christoph Hof from the Cyber Agency, the SPECTRA Challenge jury included representatives from the three cooperation partners and another external member.
From the perspective of the Bundeswehr's Cyber Innovation Hub, SPECTRA underscores the importance of fast, radically application-oriented innovation paths in close cooperation with the troops: "SPECTRA shows how quickly we can generate innovations for the troops when the existing innovation units work together with start-ups and end users from the outset along their technology readiness levels. This format forces us all to step out of our comfort zone – and that is exactly what the Bundeswehr needs to achieve technological superiority," says Sven Weizenegger, Head of the Bundeswehr Cyber Innovation Hub.
"For us, SPECTRA is a prime example of radically application-oriented innovation: not a theory room, but a test field where ideas are evaluated in hours rather than months. We will use this speed even more consistently in the future," adds Sven Weizenegger.
For the System Soldier Innovation Laboratory, represented by General Michael Bender, Head of the Bundeswehr Innovation Centre Development Team , the focus is on proximity to operational reality: "What sets SPECTRA apart is its immediate proximity to operational reality. We don't see concepts here, but solutions that have to hold their own in an electromagnetically contested environment. This practical orientation makes the challenge operationally valuable for us. At the same time, the importance lay in the fact that we can keep an eye on technological developments."
The groups worked under conditions that were very close to our real scenarios. As a result, we now know which approaches in electronic warfare really have potential – and which do not. This is exactly why formats such as SPECTRA are needed," said Bender, referring to the importance of realistic test environments and the further utilisation of the results.
The fourth jury member, Colonel Sönke Marahrens from ZDigBW, classifies SPECTRA as a blueprint for defence technology innovation formats that bring research, industry and start-ups together at an early stage: "SPECTRA sends a strong signal: we don't just want to evaluate technologies, we want to experience them under real conditions. This challenge closes the gap between research aspirations and operational suitability – and does so at remarkable speed. We identified a gap in ELOKA, and the challenge is really helping us to bridge it."
"Many innovation competitions remain abstract. SPECTRA, on the other hand, creates an environment in which disruptive approaches become immediately visible. What is being tested here today could be a building block of national cyber security tomorrow," says Colonel Sönke Marahrens, assessing the role of challenges as a tool for accelerated technology testing.
Outlook: Results will be incorporated into research, procurement and the armed forces
The findings from the demonstrations in Erding are now being incorporated into the further research agenda of the three cooperation partners. Based on the solutions presented in the final, they are examining which areas could be explored further and where follow-up projects would be useful.
In this way, SPECTRA is making a concrete contribution to Germany's active role in shaping technological innovation in the field of security and defence policy – transparently, competitively and with a strong European partner network.
Further information:
https://challenge.Cyberagentur.de
https://www.Cyberagentur.de
https://www.cyberinnovationhub.de/
https://www.bundeswehr.de/de/organisation/ausruestung-baainbw/organisation/wiweb
https://www.cyberagentur.de/presse/ideen-fuer-den-schutz-unbemannter-systeme-im-...
https://www.cyberagentur.de/presse/erste-phase-der-spectra-challenge-erfolgreich...
https://www.cyberagentur.de/presse/innovationen-fuer-elektronikkampf-technologie...
Contact:
@Agentur für Innovation in der Cybersicherheit GmbH
Große Steinstraße 19
06108 Halle (Saale)
Michael Lindner
Press Officer
Tel.: +49 151 44150 645
Email: presse@Cyberagentur.de
Cyber Innovation Hub of the German Armed Forces
BWI GmbH (limited liability company)
Auf dem Steinbüchel 22
53340 Meckenheim
Press contact:
Arno Schupp
Head of Communication & Events
Tel.: +49 151 54 019 664
Email arno.schupp@bwi.de
Innovation Laboratory System Soldier
Military Science Institute
for Materials and Supplies (WIWeB)
Institutsweg 1
85435 Erding
Press contact:
Press and Information Centre AIN
Tel.: +49 261 400-12821
Email pizain@bundeswehr.org
Dr. Julian Laufs, Head of Partnermanagement and innovativ Methods
https://www.cyberagentur.de/en/press/start-up-tempo-fuer-eloka-hightech/
https://challenge.Cyberagentur.de
https://www.Cyberagentur.de
https://www.cyberinnovationhub.de/
https://www.bundeswehr.de/de/organisation/ausruestung-baainbw/organisation/wiweb
https://www.cyberagentur.de/presse/ideen-fuer-den-schutz-unbemannter-systeme-im-...
https://www.cyberagentur.de/presse/erste-phase-der-spectra-challenge-erfolgreich...
https://www.cyberagentur.de/presse/innovationen-fuer-elektronikkampf-technologie...
Conclusion of the SPECTRA Challenge in Erding: The winning teams from the Practice and Moonshot trac ...
Source: Volland
Copyright: Bundeswehr
Criteria of this press release:
Business and commerce, Journalists, Scientists and scholars, Students
Economics / business administration, Information technology, Materials sciences, Physics / astronomy, Social studies
transregional, national
Research results, Transfer of Science or Research
English
Conclusion of the SPECTRA Challenge in Erding: The winning teams from the Practice and Moonshot trac ...
Source: Volland
Copyright: Bundeswehr
You can combine search terms with and, or and/or not, e.g. Philo not logy.
You can use brackets to separate combinations from each other, e.g. (Philo not logy) or (Psycho and logy).
Coherent groups of words will be located as complete phrases if you put them into quotation marks, e.g. “Federal Republic of Germany”.
You can also use the advanced search without entering search terms. It will then follow the criteria you have selected (e.g. country or subject area).
If you have not selected any criteria in a given category, the entire category will be searched (e.g. all subject areas or all countries).
