PARIS – Dutch defense-technology startup Intelic has launched a European military drone marketplace designed to centralize the procurement of unmanned systems and accelerate the deployment of mission-ready hardware across nine European countries.
The platform, named BASE, allows defense ministries to compare various unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and purchase systems that are guaranteed to be interoperable through a single command-and-control interface. Intelic stated the move is a direct response to a fragmented European drone market that has historically slowed the acquisition of critical capabilities and complicated joint operations.
“Our main principle is that governments here can buy plug-and-play systems they know will work within their organization, without having to adjust training and such too much,” Intelic Chief Executive Officer and co-founder Maurits Korthals Altes said, describing BASE as a way to bring “consumer-grade simplicity” into a heavily regulated defense procurement environment.
Software-Driven Procurement and Interoperability
Unlike a generic commercial marketplace, BASE integrates hardware with Intelic’s Nexus command-and-control software. This technical layer ensures that drones from different manufacturers can operate together within a single organizational framework, reducing integration risks and the time required for deployment, and aligning with NATO members’ longstanding push for interoperable systems.
While the manufacturers remain responsible for the delivery and certification of the drones, Intelic guarantees the interoperability of the systems via Nexus, effectively acting as a systems integrator at software level. The company plans to expand the platform to include other types of unmanned systems beyond aerial vehicles in future phases, such as ground or maritime assets, creating a shared digital backbone for multiple domains.
The marketplace provides defense ministries with access to confidential system specifications and operational use cases under controlled conditions. Intelic also intends to implement “full life-cycle support” in the next stage of development, which will include integrated mechanisms for maintenance requests, upgrade management and user feedback, giving procurement authorities a continuous view of fleet readiness rather than treating purchases as one-off projects.
Strategic Influence of Ukrainian Models
The architecture of BASE was inspired by the Brave1 platform in Ukraine, which connects frontline military units directly with drone manufacturers and has become a symbol of Ukraine’s rapid wartime innovation. Brave1 is widely credited with allowing Ukraine to field new unmanned capabilities at an unprecedented speed by shortening the loop between battlefield demand and industrial supply.
Korthals Altes noted a primary difference between the two models: while Ukrainian units can purchase drones directly through their marketplace, European Union procurement regulations are not currently structured for such direct acquisition. Under the EU’s public procurement directive for defense and security, most major acquisitions must pass through formal ministry or agency-level procedures, which BASE is designed to support rather than bypass.
By mirroring Brave1’s digital speed but embedding it inside existing European tendering rules, Intelic is positioning BASE as a tool that could help ministries reconcile operational urgency with legal and budgetary oversight requirements.
Manufacturer Ecosystem and Market Scale
The initial stage of the marketplace includes partners from France, the United Kingdom, and Ukraine, alongside a specific group of manufacturers from other European nations:
- Portugal: Tekever, Beyond Vision
- Netherlands: DeltaQuad, Avy, Acecore Technologies, Height Technologies
- Germany: Highcat
- Latvia: Origin Robotics
- Slovakia: Airvolute
Intelic estimates that the drone manufacturers currently signed up for the first stage of the platform are expected to generate combined sales exceeding €1.5 billion (US$1.76 billion) this year. For defense planners, that figure provides an early indication of the industrial base BASE could aggregate if the marketplace scales and is adopted by more European buyers.
The company says it is prioritizing vendors that can demonstrate compliance with European export controls and information-security standards, in an effort to reassure governments that a shared marketplace will not dilute national security safeguards.
Deployment and Competitive Positioning
The Nexus software has been operational in Ukraine since 2025. Its applications include the Heavy Shot family of drones produced by Gurzuf Defence, and the company has worked to integrate its software on the Raybird UAV platform from Skyeton. Intelic presents these deployments as proof that Nexus can be fielded in high-intensity conflict environments while supporting mixed fleets from multiple manufacturers.
Regarding competition, Korthals Altes acknowledged that Nexus has “some overlap” with Anduril’s Lattice command-and-control software. However, he distinguished Intelic’s approach by highlighting that Nexus is platform-agnostic and the company does not sell its own hardware, arguing that this reduces potential conflicts of interest when ministries select equipment.
“We don’t sell hardware; that makes us flexible and much more ecosystem focused.”
Intelic is currently finalizing an agreement to provide its Nexus software to the Royal Netherlands Army’s drone units, which will grant the Dutch military access to the BASE procurement platform. For The Hague and other capitals, such deployments effectively turn software selection into a policy lever: once Nexus is adopted, ministries can use BASE as a standardized channel to bring additional suppliers under a common command-and-control umbrella.
The company is in active discussions with several other European ministries of defense to expand the network. If those talks advance, BASE could evolve from a startup-led marketplace into a de facto regional infrastructure layer for how European governments specify, buy and manage military drones.