NATO Command, together with the NATO-Ukraine Joint Centre, has announced the results of the Persistent Airfield Denial innovation competition, aimed at finding technologies to disable enemy airfield infrastructure for an extended period. The winners were teams from Czechia, Poland, and Ukraine, and a key feature of the challenge was the involvement of Ukrainian combat experience in evaluating the proposed solutions, RBC-Ukraine reports, citing the Ministry of Defence's press service.
The Essence of the Persistent Airfield Denial Competition
The goal of the competition is to develop solutions that can restrict the use of enemy airfields and aviation for a prolonged period. The organizers placed particular emphasis on the autonomy of the systems, their ability to scale, resilience to electronic warfare suppression, and operation under conditions of limited access to navigation and communications. More than 60 applications were received, and in the final, held in Warsaw, nine teams presented their solutions.
The Winners and Their Solutions
First place was awarded to the Czech team LPP Holding for a long-range solution designed to operate with minimal dependence on external control. Second place went to Polish innovators for a comprehensive proposal for the pre-planned destruction of airfield infrastructure elements. Third place was claimed by Ukrainian developers, who proposed an artificial intelligence module for target designation, intended to increase the autonomy and accuracy of strike systems.
The Role of Ukrainian Combat Experience
A key feature of the challenge was that the evaluation of the novelty and applicability of the technologies in a combat environment was based on real Ukrainian experience. The Ukrainian side of the jury included representatives of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and the Ministry of Defence, while the NATO side included representatives of the Alliance's Commands and the NATO DIANA defence innovation accelerator.
Outlook: Testing and Scaling
The next stage will be the testing and combat trial of the finalists' solutions, which will allow their effectiveness and potential for further scaling within the Alliance's defence programmes to be assessed.
Context: Strikes on Airfields and Refineries
The competition results come against the backdrop of ongoing strikes on airfield infrastructure and oil refining facilities. Earlier, the Ukrainian Armed Forces attacked the Rostov-on-Don airfield, and according to Fire Point, on the same day the largest primary processing units at the Ryazan Oil Refinery were hit, providing more than 77% of the plant's capacity. Ukrainian drones also struck Mi-35 and Mi-8 helicopters at the Taganrog-Central airfield in Rostov Oblast.
