Indra has closed an agreement to incorporate the Spanish startup IDBOTIC into the NGWS/FCAS program, the largest and most ambitious defense program in Europe, which is addressing the development of the air combat system of the future, key for the continent to maintain its air superiority throughout the 21st century.With the signing of this agreement, it joins forces with Indra for the development of disruptive technologies that facilitate a non-clonable identity to the various sensors and systems that will make up the Next Generation Weapon System/Future Air Combat System (NGWS/FCAS).
This system, critical to ensuring the future security of our continent, will be based on a sixth-generation fighter jet escorted by several remotely piloted aircraft, or carriers, all operating within a combat cloud. This cloud introduces a completely revolutionary element to air combat by facilitating real-time data exchange between different platforms—air, naval, and land-based—dynamically creating a sophisticated network of sensors and effectors distributed throughout the theater of operations. This provides unprecedented situational awareness capabilities and the ability to coordinate the actions of all these platforms as if they were a single entity.
The development of this 'system of systems', with the capacity for simultaneous intervention in multiple defense domains, represents a technological challenge of enormous magnitude, requiring the development of a completely new defense concept, in which the security and resilience of communications must be at the center of the architecture.
Among the many technologies that will be developed for this purpose, Indra and IDBOTIC will address three parallel projects that provide security at different levels: the first focused on guaranteeing the security of the hardware (Non-Clonable Physical Function); the second, on the rapid distribution of private keys (Distributed Ledger Technology); and the third, on the integration of encryption and decryption processes, which will already be resistant to post-quantum attacks (Completely Homomorphic Encryption) that will come with the emergence of this new form of computing.
Miguel García Moreno, Director of FCAS Operations at Indra, states that “with this agreement, we are taking a step forward in our commitment to incorporating into the NGWS/FCAS program all companies, SMEs, startups, research centers, and universities working on cutting-edge technologies. We need them all to be part of this major technological program that will extend beyond 2040. We are confident that IDBOTIC's level of specialization and exceptional knowledge in the field of cryptography and secure communications will help us achieve better results more quickly, while also contributing to strengthening European technological sovereignty.”
IDBOTIC President César Goyache stated, “Our participation in the NGWS/FCAS program allows us to advance the development of a dual-purpose technology that will find a wide range of applications. We are proud to be collaborating with a major Spanish technology company like Indra, which has opened its doors to us and facilitated our entry into what is undoubtedly one of the most exciting technology programs currently underway in Europe.”
IDBOTIC is a company that had already begun working with Indra on Sustainability 4.0 projects, contributing to the security of, for example, the network used by Indra's virtual assistant; a system that, through mixed reality glasses, allows personnel responsible for maintaining equipment and platforms to connect remotely with other experts to obtain their support. IDBOTIC will now also work on the NGWS/FCAS program, an initiative that, in the words of FCAS Operations Director Miguel García Moreno, “will make Spain one of the most innovative countries in the world and will serve as a catalyst for structuring the entire defense technology industry throughout the country.”
