DroneVation & Defence25 – Working together for protection and security
We, AIRlabs Austria, were represented as exhibitors with the FFG Take Off project Sense & Avoid (S&A) at the first DroneVation & Defence in Vienna – also the first military-oriented event at which we were present.
Sense & Avoid impresses: poster presentation leads to on-site interview
A particular highlight was our S&A poster presentation, which allowed us to illustrate the topic clearly and generate a great deal of interest. The positive response even led to Robin Niederl, technical project manager at AIRlabs Austria and responsible for Sense & Avoid, being interviewed on site by Militär Aktuell.
Together with our partners, we are working as consortium lead on this project to close the existing gap between the state of the art in sense-and-avoid systems and civil requirements – with the aim of developing a strategy for future technology development.
What does Sense & Avoid mean?
Sense & Avoid describes the ability of manned and unmanned aircraft to detect obstacles and other air traffic participants in their vicinity and automatically avoid them in order to prevent collisions. While situational awareness and avoidance are already established in manned aviation, there is still considerable room for development in unmanned systems. This is where our project comes in, addressing both the civil and military dimensions: Sense & Avoid technologies are not only a civil issue, but also a military one – for example, in protecting our own forces or dealing with counter-UAS systems.
New perspectives for UAS in the military environment
DroneVation & Defence took place for the first time this year and focused on the opportunities and challenges of UAS (unmanned aircraft systems) in the military environment. The event brought together international experts, industry representatives and armed forces to discuss future scenarios for the use of UAS. The premiere in Vienna underscored the growing importance of the topic – from air defence and sensor fusion to AI-based collision avoidance procedures.
Participation was particularly exciting for AIRlabs: on the one hand, we were able to present Sense & Avoid in an environment where the topic is highly relevant. On the other hand, it became clear that many fears – such as the idea that technology primarily poses a danger to humans – were viewed in a more nuanced way at the event: the focus was clearly on the benefits of advanced technologies for safety and security.
In addition, the event was a valuable networking platform for us. We made new contacts, saw familiar faces again and were particularly pleased to talk to interested parties on site.
Sources
Brigitte Quint (2025). „DroneVation & Defence 2025”: Erfolgreiche Premiere in Wien Online: https://militaeraktuell.at/dronevation-defence-wien-drohnen-2025/
