ELT Group Participates in the European Defence Innovation Day 2025 Held in Krakow from May 14 to 16

The event, organized by the European Defence Agency (EDA) in collaboration with the Italian National Armaments Directorate – III Department, focuses on innovation in the Defence sector.

During the event, ELT Group announced that it will present “ESA-SCAN” (6-channel SCANning EW receiver based on integrated photonics). The project has been co-financed by the Ministry of Defence within the framework of the National Military Research Plan managed by the National Armaments Directorate. ELT Group leads the initiative and is supported by CNIT (National Inter-University Consortium for Telecommunications).

The system consists of a six-channel receiver connected to six antennas that transmit signals via optical fiber — making it lighter, immune to electromagnetic interference, and aimed at minimizing signal loss. Currently, the research and development activities — initiated years ago by the company and now supported by the PNRM program — are focused on creating integrated photonic circuits. The final roadmap envisions the realization of the aforementioned photonic boards.

In a press release, ELT Group emphasizes that “the project represents, in its broader vision, a revolutionary technological leap for ELT Group’s ESM (Electronic Support Measures) systems, thanks to the transition from microwave circuits to photonic circuits. This shift enables wider bandwidth, and thus the ability to acquire and manage a larger amount of information. Furthermore, the system benefits from reduced Size, Weight & Power (SwaP) characteristics.”

This technology ushers in a new technological era in Electronic Warfare, which is crucial in today’s conflicts that require handling vast amounts of data. These new system architectures, combined in the future with the capabilities offered by Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, will be essential for successfully executing complex multi-domain missions in the EMSO (Electromagnetic Spectrum Operation) domain and for more effectively supporting the decision-making process.

The technology is platform-agnostic and also suitable for unmanned systems, thanks to its compact size.