Indra Group Drives Talent and Innovation in Electronic Warfare with the “Electronic Warfare Open Challenge”

Indra Group has announced the winner of its Electronic Warfare Open Challenge 2025, a nationwide initiative designed to attract talent and foster innovation in the field of electronic warfare.

Under the theme “Exploring the State of the Art in New Technologies Applied to Sensors and Detection”, the challenge received a significant number of disruptive proposals and innovative solutions from university students in Telecommunications, Computer Science and Electronics.

Following a rigorous evaluation by Indra Group’s panel of experts, three finalists were selected and presented their ideas at an event held at the company’s headquarters this week: Diego Castro Freire, student at Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, proposed a “Cognitive System for Electronic Warfare”. Iván Díaz Jérica, student at Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, presented a “Hybrid Platform for Detecting Stealth UAVs”. Juan José Rodríguez González, an Indra Group professional and subject-matter expert, introduced “MESH-EW SENTINEL”, an innovative concept for distributed electronic warfare sensors.

The winning project, submitted by Diego Castro Freire, earned full funding for the Master’s in Electronic Warfare at the University of Cantabria — a benchmark programme in this strategic discipline.

“This challenge reflects our commitment to innovation and talent. Electronic warfare is a strategic domain for ensuring technological superiority and security in increasingly complex scenarios. Investing in new ideas and specialised training is key to leading the future of defence,” said Manuel Escalante, Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Indra Group, during the event.

University students represent a vital source of creativity and knowledge, capable of delivering disruptive ideas that will shape the future of electronic warfare. Encouraging their participation in technological initiatives strengthens the link between academia and industry, while ensuring the development of highly skilled professionals who will lead strategic advances in an increasingly demanding global environment.

A Challenge to Accelerate Technological Innovation

In this first edition of the Electronic Warfare Open Challenge, Indra Group sought disruptive ideas with near-term applicability — technologies that could underpin the next generation of complex systems. Evaluation criteria included originality, disruptive potential, technological innovation, market viability and international scalability.

Electronic defence systems — designed to dominate the electromagnetic spectrum and degrade adversary capabilities — are critical in today’s geopolitical context and must continuously evolve by integrating emerging technologies.

Indra Group is one of the world’s leading providers of electronic warfare solutions, developing advanced systems that protect air, naval and land platforms against threats in increasingly complex environments. Its technologies enable detection, identification and neutralisation of hostile signals, ensuring operational superiority and force protection. With more than 500 systems in service worldwide and participation in strategic programmes such as the F110 frigates and the European FCAS, Indra continues to drive innovation in sensors, countermeasures and multi-domain capabilities, consolidating its role as a key player in defence and technological sovereignty.

Through this initiative, Indra Group reaffirms its commitment to talent development and research in critical defence technologies, strengthening its position as a global leader in advanced electronic warfare solutions.