Rheinmetall at AFCEA 2026: Sovereignty through Interconnectivity

For Rheinmetall, the sensor-effector chain begins in space, in order to generate the most comprehensive situational awareness possible. A comprehensive situational picture forms the basis for rapid command and control processes, enabling a swift and appropriate response to any threat. Unmanned systems are playing an increasingly significant role in this context. The diversity of systems – ranging from satellites and drones to armoured vehicles – carries a risk: complexity and fragmentation. If systems do not ‘communicate’ with one another, the time advantage is lost. This is where the Rheinmetall Battlesuite comes in.

The Battlesuite is not a traditional standalone product, but a revolutionary software architecture concept. It can be thought of as the military equivalent of an operating system such as Android or iOS. It is based on standardised middleware – the Tactical Core – enabling a wide variety of applications and hardware platforms to be securely and interoperably networked and operated.

Three pillars define this approach:
• Openness: Moving away from vendor-locked siloed solutions towards non-proprietary standards.
• Interoperability: Seamless communication between partners, military branches, nations and different generations of hardware.
• Future-proofing: New AI-enabled capabilities can be integrated into the existing system like ‘apps’ without the need to recertify the entire infrastructure.

Information flows seamlessly from the orbital sensor via the Tactical Core to the effectors on the ground, at sea or in the air. In this way, the Battlesuite creates the infrastructural foundation for any form of Software Defined Defence.

In a world where the threat landscape is becoming increasingly unpredictable, Rheinmetall provides the answer: an integrated ecosystem that combines reconnaissance, command and control, and effect into a single unit.