The Dutch Ministry of Defense has signed a three-year strategic partnership worth more than 30 million euros with Intelic to develop the software foundation for the future unmanned systems ecosystem. According to the ministry and the Amsterdam-based company, the agreement makes the Netherlands the first country to formally adopt a software-first approach to military interoperability. Instead of buying platforms first and solving integration challenges afterward, the ministry is putting interoperability at the center of its procurement strategy.
Intelic will develop and expand the software architecture that connects unmanned aerial and ground systems from different manufacturers into a single operational environment. At the core of the partnership is the company’s Nexus command-and-control platform, which enables heterogeneous drone fleets to operate together while reducing deployment times and operator training. The software has been deployed in Ukraine since 2025, where battlefield experience has highlighted the importance of rapidly integrating new systems and sensors.
The agreement also builds on Intelic Base, a procurement platform introduced earlier this year that links European drone manufacturers with defense organizations and identifies systems already compatible with Nexus. With more than 700 drone manufacturers now active in Europe, software interoperability is becoming increasingly important to prevent vendor lock-in and simplify the introduction of new capabilities.
