Big Data in the Defense Context
Efficiency through intelligent data management
Digitalization is fundamentally transforming military systems. Vehicles, drones, unmanned platforms, and sensors generate enormous streams of data that are crucial to mission success. With software-defined systems (SDS), software takes center stage in military platforms. These systems enable advanced digital capabilities, intelligently network platforms, and remain up to date throughout their lifecycle thanks to over-the-air updates. At the same time, the challenge grows: ever-increasing volumes of data must be stored, managed, and analyzed efficiently.
IAV Merida as a key technology for SDS and big data
Modern defense platforms feature complex, software-based architectures with assistance and autonomy functions. This generates amounts of data that can only be put to use with powerful data management.
"Modern defense platforms are extremely complex due to their software-driven architecture and numerous assistance and autonomy functions. That's why it's necessary to store, manage, and analyze data efficiently. To meet these challenges, we developed IAV Merida," explains Dr. Remo Lachmann, data expert at IAV.
As a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), the solution facilitates data handling throughout the development and operational cycle of military systems. It combines highly secure storage with powerful analytics and provides decision-makers with a decisive information advantage.
Data as the foundation of military testing and operational capability
IAV Merida processes data from various sources such as vehicle loggers, drone systems, mobile telemetry units, or unmanned ground systems. This information is essential for identifying errors, realistically assessing system behavior, and ensuring reliability in all operational environments. Field and laboratory tests generate enormous amounts of data, which are efficiently stored, structured, and analyzed by IAV Merida—regardless of terrain or climate conditions.
Secure storage and flexible infrastructure
The platform processes several petabytes of operational and test data every month and subjects every measurement to comprehensive analysis. Operations predominantly take place in secure, local data centers and can be flexibly integrated into highly secure private or hybrid cloud environments. This ensures users retain full control over their sensitive data—customized to national security and compliance requirements.
Automated analysis and visual presentation
More than 300,000 automated analyses run each month, generating precise insights from complex measurement data. Results are presented in interactive dashboards—with charts, statistics, tables, or geographic maps. This gives users a clear overview of the condition of individual vehicles or entire fleets and enables real-time responses to deviations.
Artificial intelligence for anomaly detection and forecasts
Besides traditional methods, IAV Merida consistently uses artificial intelligence. AI algorithms recognize unknown error patterns, uncover patterns, and make predictions that reveal potential failures early on. With this AI-supported anomaly detection, problems can often be identified weeks or even months before they occur—and thus reliably prevented.
Dr. Remo Lachmann
Head of Department for Data Analytics
