*Athanasios Tsakalos

Both the participants and the public were impressed by the Cypriot company ADDITESS – Advanced Integrated Technology Solutions & Services LTD during the proceedings of the 1st International Defence and Security Conference in Cyprus BATTLEFIELD ReDEFiNED 2023.

ADDITESS, a scientific, consulting, and research Cypriot SME based in Nicosia and founded in 2011, was represented by its CEO, Mr. Nikolaos Koutras. Mr. Koutras participated both in the “Multi-Domain and Network Centric Operations – Trends and Solutions” and “Armed and Security Forces Synergies” sessions.

During his first speech and having made an extensive report on the history, capabilities, goals and portfolio of the company, Mr. Koutras developed a topic concerning modern C4I systems (Command, Control, Communications, Computers, and Intelligence) and their benefits for decision-making on the modern battlefield.

According to Mr. Koutras, all countries seek information superiority, with the aim of achieving better and faster decisions as well as optimal situational awareness regarding the location and condition of the enemy and friendly forces.

Indicatively, the CEO of ADDITESS referred to the hot issue of illegal immigration flows to the European Union and how decision-making based on modern C4I systems makes it possible to manage and mitigate this problem.

Also read: FIRES | The next-generation European indirect fire development program with the participation of the Cypriot ADDITESS

Regarding this issue, the promotion of a European integrated Border Management, including border control, risk analysis, information exchange, cross-agency cooperation, use of cutting-edge technology, including large-scale information systems, is of utmost importance.

The proposed solution goes by the name BORDERUAS as a result of a European research-funded project of Horizon Europe, where Semi-autonomous border surveillance platforms combined with next-generation unmanned aerial vehicles with an ultra-high resolution multi-sensor surveillance payload will contribute to improving the security of European borders.

In this direction, ADDITESS developed the innovative ADD-C3 System software solution, as the main subsystem of the project in question, as well as a completely indigenously manufactured Mobile Command, Control, and Coordination Center for use with UAS systems and for monitoring and crisis response or security operations. The system in question is based on the network capabilities of a web of sensors that provides a visual interface for camera video, radar, acoustic sensor tracking, and resource management to increase situational awareness through a variety of easy-to-use tools and functions.

Apart from this, however, ADDITESS actively participates in other European cooperative programs of EDIDP and EDF such as LynkEYS and now MarsEUS, while it has already developed its own family of products, mainly software applications.

In his second speech, Mr. Koutras focused on international terrorism as one of the contemporary threats to the global community and emphasized that we live in an era of asymmetric threats, where prevention and mitigation are vital, as chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear agents and explosives (CBRN-E) have long been used by terrorist organizations and even individuals.

ADDITESS’s contribution to the fight against CBRN-E threats lies in its participation in the European-funded SSEE program, a collaboration of partners (ADDITESS, Emergency Response Unit Cyprus, The Center for Security Studies KEMEA, Piraeus Port Authority) in Cyprus and Greece for the shielding of South-East Europe from the threats in question (SSEE Project Shielding South-East Europe from CBRN-E Threats).

One of the activities of the program was the provision of training activities and personnel exercises to monitor such threats with various technical solutions such as detectors for first responders and for the use by specialized military personnel in the detection and identification of chemical, biological, and radiological agents as well as in the detection of explosives.

The ADDITESS approach rests precisely on the notion that when prevention fails, the detection and identification of a CBRN-E agent enhances the situational awareness of first responders thereby providing decision-makers with important information to assist them with their action plan.

Thus, ADDITESS has proceeded to use advanced CBRN-E detectors of European manufacturers which, whether operating autonomously or integrated into ADDITESS platforms (UAV APF-1M TILEMACHOS), can contribute catalytically to the suppression of such threats.

Finally, at this point, it should be noted that ADDITESS maintains a strategic partnership with Environics Oy, a recognized company that designs and manufactures industrial gas and CBRN threat detection solutions for industrial, government, and military organizations around the world, something which enables it to maintain a dense technological footprint abroad.

Also read: ADDITESS | Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Systems in Cyprus and participation in European Defence and Security Programs