Military situational awareness: New EDA project to enhance automatic 3D modelling

Brussels, 24 February 2025

The capacity to know what’s going on, where you are, and what options exist in your environment gives armed forces a clear advantage. Military personell must constantly assess their surroundings and adapt to emerging situations. To enhance this the European Defence Agency (EDA) has launched a new project focused on automatic 3D modelling processes to improve situational awareness, threat detection & identification, and effector allocation.

Recent technological advancements allow for precise surface scanning and the automatic or semi-automatic generation of 3D models, including textures, for simulation purposes. These scans can be carried out by sensors already integrated into land platforms during their movement through mission areas.

By using automated analysis and the derived models, particularly in real-time scenarios and on military vehicles, situational awareness can improve significantly. Operators can therefore better understand the terrain before arrival, predict potential risks, and gain deeper insights into the environment.

In response to the growing need for enhanced situational awareness, EDA’s CapTech Ground Systems and CapTech Simulation Technologies are coordinating a collaborative effort between Luxembourg and the Netherlands. The two EDA Member States have jointly launched the “3D Terrain and City Models for Situational Awareness, Decision Making, and Effector Coordination [3D-4LAND I]” project. This initiative is led by the Netherlands’ RE-liON, with participation from TNO (the Netherlands), FIRIS SA (Luxembourg), the University of Luxembourg, and the Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST).