News item | 22-05-2025 | 11:52
Fast, practical and targeted innovation when it comes to drones. That is the purpose of the founded Quick Response Drone Facility (QRDF). From this organization, Defense wants to test and apply new innovations together with knowledge partners every few weeks. Minister Ruben Brekelmans launched the QRDF yesterday.
Minister Brekelmans: “The war in Ukraine shows inexorably how technology makes the difference on the fighting field. For Ukrainians, drones often mean the difference between life and death. This reality underlines the importance of technological lead. And thus also the importance of the QRDF today.”
The facility comes within the drone center of the Royal Netherlands Aerospace Center (NLR). TNO, Marin and Mind (Military Innovation by Doing) are also involved. That is not for nothing, the minister acknowledged. “Our knowledge institutions and entrepreneurs are a leader. Our armed forces knows what is needed in the field. And it is precisely this collaboration, in what we call the ‘Golden Triangle’, comes into its own within the QRDF.”
The Netherlands driving force
The idea for the facility came from the lessons from Ukraine. The Netherlands is one of the driving forces in the international delivery of drones to Ukraine. Also in the Netherlands the development and production of drones is stimulated for our own armed forces. This is done, among other things, through the Production System Action Plan Uniminated Systems (APOS).
Landing ideas
Brekelmans also gave a concrete challenge to NLR and the other partners. “Develop – together with your partners – a cheap and effective detection system for our drones against ‘interceptor drones’. Because if we use drones, we must also be able to protect them: against disruption, interception, and technological countermeasures.” In this way one’s own resources can be used more effectively and the risk of losing people and equipment is smaller.