INGENIERIA DE SISTEMAS PARA LA DEFENSA DE ESPANA SA-SME MP

Their core work

ISDEFE is Spain's government-owned systems engineering and technical consultancy serving defence and public security. In H2020, they contributed expertise in air traffic management, drone integration into controlled airspace, and security technologies including AI-driven surveillance and law enforcement tools. Their work spans from designing airspace management procedures (SESAR programme) to building intelligence systems for border security, maritime awareness, and counter-terrorism. They bridge the gap between defence/security requirements and civilian research, bringing operational realism to EU-funded consortia.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

ISDEFE's early H2020 work (2016–2019) was dominated by SESAR air traffic management projects, where they served almost exclusively as a third party providing technical expertise on airspace procedures, communications, and airport management. From 2019 onward, the portfolio shifted markedly toward security applications — border surveillance, maritime awareness, counter-terrorism, and child exploitation detection — with AI and big data becoming recurring technical threads. Notably, their two coordinator roles (COPKIT in 2018 and USEPE in 2021) both came in the later period, suggesting growing ambition and leadership capacity in security and drone integration.

ISDEFE is moving from a background ATM support role toward leading AI-powered security and unmanned systems projects, making them an increasingly active player in EU security research.

How they like to work

ISDEFE operates predominantly as a third-party expert or participant rather than a consortium leader — only 2 of 19 projects were coordinated, while 10 involved third-party contributions. With 199 unique partners across 34 countries, they maintain an exceptionally broad network, typical of an organization embedded in large SESAR consortia. This makes them easy to integrate into new consortia: they are experienced team players who bring operational domain knowledge without needing to lead.

Remarkably broad network of 199 partners across 34 countries, built largely through participation in multi-partner SESAR programmes and security consortia. Their connections span European aviation authorities, aerospace companies, and security research organizations.

What sets them apart

ISDEFE occupies a rare niche as a government-owned defence engineering firm active in civilian EU research. They bring operational credibility and real-world security requirements that academic partners typically lack, which is why security and ATM consortia value their involvement. For consortium builders, partnering with ISDEFE signals direct access to Spanish defence and public security end-user perspectives — a strong asset in security-focused Horizon Europe proposals.

Highlights from their portfolio

• COPKIT
  Their largest funded project (EUR 759K) and a coordinator role, applying deep learning and knowledge management to counter-terrorism and organised crime policing.
• USEPE
  Second coordinator role, focused on AI-driven drone separation in U-space — positions ISDEFE at the intersection of their ATM heritage and emerging drone/AI expertise.
• NESTOR
  EUR 297K for a comprehensive border surveillance project combining unmanned vehicles, social media analysis, and AR/VR — showcases their shift toward AI-powered security systems.