QinetiQ to establish Belgian Mission Data Factory

Above: (left to right) Major-General Pierre Ciparisse, Commander of the Belgian Cyber Force and Air Vice-Marshall Nigel Maddox, Defence Exports, Ministry of Defence (MoD), signing the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).
Courtesy QinetiQ

A new, multimillion pound joint programme will be established after a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the UK and Belgium last week. Over the next five years, QinetiQ will export its mission data expertise to help establish a sovereign Joint Electromagnetic Warfare Support Centre (JEWSC) in Belgium.

Mission data plays an increasingly vital role in today’s digitally enabled battlespace, giving armed forces the operational edge required to deter and defeat adversaries. As military platforms become more sophisticated, they rely on precise, mission specific information collected, analysed and distilled from sources including threat signatures, radar and communications frequencies, to stay safe and effective against rapidly evolving threats.

Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry, Luke Pollard MP, said: “By combining our expertise and investing in shared capabilities, we are strengthening NATO and showing Britain stands shoulder-to-shoulder with our European allies. This is not just good news for our partnership with Belgium – it is good news for the UK defence industry. A significant amount of this investment will flow directly into the UK.”

Steve Wadey, Group CEO, QinetiQ, said: “Our extensive operational experience supporting the UK’s production and management of its mission data means we’re in a unique position to provide specialist expertise and training to allied nations, as they build and enhance their own sovereign capabilities in this increasingly critical area for defence. We look forward to working with partners across industry and government to deliver this vital capability to the Government of Belgium.”

QinetiQ, as the industry lead for the UK government-industry partnership Project SOCIETAS, is delivering mission data services to the UK armed forces at home and abroad, via the UK’s Joint Electronic Warfare Operational Support Centre (JEWOSC). QinetiQ is also playing a key role at the Typhoon Mission Support Centre, where embedded teams of experts work with the Royal Air Force to develop and refine mission data, enhancing the UK Typhoon fleet.

Through its role in Project SOCIETAS, QinetiQ will work closely with the Belgian Ministry of Defence, the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) and industry partners in both nations to help establish, operationalise and sustain the new JEWSC in Belgium.

Major General Ciparisse, Commander of the Belgian Cyber Force, said: "To address the growing need for specialised electromagnetic warfare (EW) experts and to support the introduction of new high technology weapon systems, it appeared entirely natural for us to adopt a cooperation model inspired by the successful British SOCIETAS programme and the United Kingdom’s long standing experience in electronic warfare. The programme will help us establish a structured partnership between our JEWSC and Belgian industry, complemented by organised collaboration with QinetiQ and UK industrial partners. 

"Through this approach, industrial actors in both Belgium and the United Kingdom stand to benefit from shared expertise, technology exchange and new opportunities for joint development. This initiative aims to provide Belgium with a reliable, long term and sovereign EW capability, reinforcing national resilience in an increasingly complex electromagnetic environment."