{"id":26919,"date":"2018-07-18T20:12:12","date_gmt":"2018-07-18T20:12:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/uncategorized\/2018\/07\/18\/germany-wants-its-own-version-of-darpa-and-within-the-year\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T22:52:20","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T22:52:20","slug":"germany-wants-its-own-version-of-darpa-and-within-the-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/it-networks\/2018\/07\/18\/germany-wants-its-own-version-of-darpa-and-within-the-year\/","title":{"rendered":"Germany wants its own version of DARPA, and within the year"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

COLOGNE, Germany \u2014 Germany Defence and Interior ministry officials are pushing for the creation of a new agency this year that will study disruptive technologies relevant to Germany\u2019s defense and security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A decision on the way forward is expected \u201cshortly,\u201d a Defence Ministry spokesman told Defense News on Wednesday. Planning is underway to get the green light from the Finance Ministry, a necessary step because the agency would be set up as an \u201cin-house\u201d limited liability corporation, according to the spokesman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If all goes according to plan, insiders believe Cabinet-level consideration of the effort could come as early as September. While there is no official word on the exact timing, the spokesman said creating the agency is firmly on the calendar for 2018.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The full name for the outfit is \u201cAgentur f\u00fcr Disruptive Innovationen in der Cybersicherheit und Schl\u00fcsseltechnologien,\u201d or ADIC. Its name first popped up in the coalition-government agreement between Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union and Social Democrats in March.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The document postulated that the agency, overseen by the two ministries for interior and exterior security, would help ensure Germany’s \u201ctechnological innovation leadership.\u201d Also requested in that document was the creation of an \u201cIT security fund\u201d that would help protect related key technologies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen referred to the coming agency in a speech in May, equating its purpose to that of the Pentagon\u2019s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, otherwise known as DARPA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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German Chancellor Angela Merkel (R) chats with Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen prior to the weekly cabinet meeting in Berlin on May 02, 2018. (TOBIAS SCHWARZ\/AFP\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

She presented the idea as part of a wider plan toward deep-futures thinking on cybersecurity matters, which also includes a study program at the Bundeswehr University in Munich.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Under the relatively new shift to emphasize all things cyber in the German military, the Defence Ministry\u2019s Cyber Innovation Hub, created last year, is slated to survey the domestic technology startup scene for ideas with potential military application.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Asked by Defense News what status the upcoming agency will accord to the field of artificial intelligence<\/a>, ministry officials responded that such projects \u201cgenerally\u201d would be eligible to receive temporary funding if they are deemed relevant to the mission.<\/p>\n\n\n\t