FENIX UAV Swarm Project – The advanced guidance, navigation and control systems developed by UAV Navigation-Grupo Oesía, together with Alpha Unmanned Systems’ platforms, will be deployed in the FENIX project, which aims to consolidate capabilities in heterogeneous unmanned vehicle swarms. The project is framed within the COINCIDENTE Programme, the Spanish Ministry of Defence’s National R&D Plan, which seeks innovative technological solutions of interest for defence. It will also benefit from the support of institutions such as AICIA (Association for Research and Industrial Cooperation of Andalusia, University of Seville) and FADA-CATEC (Advanced Aerospace Technologies Centre).
The main objective of FENIX is the design, development and validation through simulation and flight test campaigns of a technological demonstrator for an autonomous control and coordination system for heterogeneous unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) swarms.
The system will build on Alpha Unmanned Systems’ existing UAV platforms, as project lead, and on the advanced autopilot technology of UAV Navigation-Grupo Oesía. Building on this foundation, new technologies will be developed to endow the swarm with collective intelligence, in alignment with military doctrine. These technologies will analyse, assess and demonstrate how the use of such systems enhances effectiveness and efficiency in surveillance and reconnaissance tasks in complex and contested environments, while also providing increased robustness.
Key developments and objectives of the project include:
- Swarm coordination and planning system: Capability for efficient, real-time replanning in response to unforeseen events.
- Cooperative perception system: Integration of multisensor data collected by the different UAVs, enhancing detection accuracy and robustness against occlusions, concealment, and adverse weather conditions.
- Advanced capabilities for critical missions: Identification and mapping of areas of interest under GNSS signal interference (jamming) or spoofing, as well as in NRBQ (CBRN) threat scenarios, and detection of specific targets in patrol, reconnaissance, target acquisition, and search and rescue missions.
The use of a heterogeneous UAV swarm will enable these missions to be carried out more effectively and efficiently, directly enhancing defence operational capabilities. The FENIX system operator will only need to define the mission to be executed by the swarm through a single human–machine interface. The system will automatically decompose the mission defined by the operator into simple tasks, optimally allocate these tasks to the UAVs within the swarm according to their capabilities and constraints, and generate and assign safe, efficient, and physically feasible trajectories for each UAV, while respecting kinematic constraints, energy limitations, communication range constraints, and other operational factors.
The FENIX Project, supported by the advanced intelligence of UAV Navigation-Grupo Oesía’s GNC systems and Alpha Unmanned Systems’ rotary-wing platforms, represents a significant step forward in the use of UAV swarms for military applications. This project provides a robust and efficient tool for inspection and reconnaissance in complex and contested environments.
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