Intelic BASE: A New Hub for Defence Drone Procurement in Europe

Intelic, a European defence technology company, has announced the launch of Intelic BASE, a new procurement hub designed to strengthen European defence sovereignty. The primary objective is to support Ministries of Defence across Europe in identifying and deploying European unmanned systems faster, significantly shortening procurement timelines for mission-ready drones.

From its launch, the platform connects drone and unmanned systems manufacturers from ten European countries – France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Ukraine, the Netherlands, Portugal, Latvia, Luxembourg, Lithuania, and Czechia. This provides governments with direct visibility into interoperable capabilities available across the European defence industrial base. The initiative is already being developed with input from several European Ministries of Defence, underscoring a collaborative and integrated approach.

Technical Details and Strategic Collaborations

Intelic BASE brings together a strong group of European partners, including Acecore Technologies (Netherlands), Airvolute (Slovakia), Avy (Netherlands), Beyond Vision (Portugal), DeltaQuad (Netherlands), Height Technologies (Netherlands), Highcat (Germany), and TAF Industries (Ukraine). These partners represent a broad geographic spread and combine expertise across ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance), strike, and counter-UAV systems.

The consortium also includes several unnamed Ukrainian partners who collectively produce over 100,000 UAVs per month, covering the same system categories, and generate over $1.5 billion in sales. Their inclusion underscores the deep operational experience and industrial capacity that the Ukrainian defence ecosystem brings to the consortium. The platform is the first of its kind in Europe, inspired by procurement models emerging in Ukraine that allow defence ministries to identify and compare drone systems in one place, significantly shortening the time between operational need and deployment.

A central feature of the procurement hub is its integration with Nexus, Intelic's flagship C2 (Command and Control) software. Nexus is a platform-agnostic layer for unmanned systems control and has been deployed in Ukraine since 2025. This integration allows coalition drone systems to function cohesively across manufacturers and mission types, reducing integration risk and shortening deployment timelines for Ministries of Defence.

Strategic Context and Implications for Sovereignty

The increase in defence spending by European governments, in response to the conflict in Ukraine, has made the ability to rapidly identify interoperable capabilities from within their own industrial base a strategic priority. However, procurement across the continent remains fragmented, slowing deployment and limiting visibility into available systems. This fragmentation hinders the responsiveness and efficiency required in a rapidly evolving geopolitical landscape.

Maurits Korthals Altes, CEO of Intelic, emphasized that Europe already possesses the industrial capacity and battlefield-proven drone technologies it needs. What has been missing is a shared operational layer that makes those capabilities visible, interoperable, and deployable across borders. Strengthening this connection is considered essential for a stronger and more cohesive Europe. This approach supports a broader shift across Europe toward coalition deployment and stronger coordination within the European defence industrial base, promoting greater strategic autonomy.

Benefits and Future Outlook for European Security

Unlike traditional procurement channels, which often require governments to evaluate vendors individually and and resolve interoperability challenges afterwards, Intelic BASE enables Ministries of Defence to explore systems that are already prepared for coalition deployment. This eliminates intermediaries and reseller structures, improving direct connections between governments and European manufacturers, with a positive impact on efficiency and transparency.

This model fosters faster capability discovery and contributes to a more responsive European security architecture. For those evaluating on-premise deployment, the platform highlights the importance of direct control over the supply chain and interoperability, crucial aspects for data sovereignty and operational security in critical environments. AI-RADAR offers analytical frameworks on /llm-onpremise to evaluate these trade-offs, providing tools for informed decisions in complex contexts such as defence.