European Defence Agency Evaluates Drones, Robots Ahead of Military Exercise in Rome

As preparations intensify for a major European defence trial in Rome, the European Defence Agency (EDA) has completed a round of system acceptance tests across the continent to verify the readiness of unmanned aerial and ground platforms.

The Operational Experimentation (OPEX) campaign, scheduled for June and July 2025 and hosted by the Italian Army, aims to deploy autonomous systems in realistic field conditions. Before participating, each system must meet strict technical, operational, reliability, and safety criteria.

In recent weeks, EDA experts visited sites across the European Union to assess systems developed by six companies: Beyond Vision (Portugal), ALTUS LSA (Greece), Schiebel (Austria), Alisys (Spain), Sieć Badawcza Łukasiewicz PIAP (Poland), and ARX Robotics (Germany).

“These tests mark a major step in ensuring the participating systems are fully capable of supporting real-world defence applications,” the agency stated.

The campaign is part of broader efforts to advance the integration of autonomous platforms into future European Union defence capabilities.

The OPEX campaign also plays a wider strategic role through the EDA’s Hub for European Defence Innovation (HEDI). The hub acts as a bridge between technology developers, defence experts, and operational users, supporting faster adoption of emerging technologies within the EU military landscape.

HEDI’s scenario-based experimentation approach is designed to bring innovation directly into operational settings, helping to deliver capabilities more rapidly and improve the responsiveness of Europe’s defence infrastructure.