Interview with Sven Heursch
As Europe faces mounting security challenges, HENSOLDT is pioneering Software-defined Defence (SDD) as a foundation for multi-domain operations and digital sovereignty. We spoke with Sven Heursch, the new Head of Software-defined Defence and Digitalisation at HENSOLDT, about the lessons of Ukraine, the role of the newly developed MDOcore, and how SDD is changing the very fabric of defence.
What is meant by Software Defined Defence, and why is it relevant for modern armed forces?
Sven Heursch: Software Defined Defence (SDD) is the concept of delivering military capabilities primarily through flexible and modular software with open interfaces rather than fixed hardware. This enables forces to adapt their systems during operations – adding functions, integrating sensors, or enhancing AI-based decision support in near real time.
At the same time, SDD addresses a core NATO challenge: interoperability. Open, software-based interfaces allow systems from different nations to be connected rapidly and pragmatically, without waiting for lengthy standardisation processes.
This significantly enhances both operational agility and coalition effectiveness.
The Ukraine conflict has exposed major interoperability challenges on the battlefield. How does Software-defined Defence address this, and what role does HENSOLDT’s MDOcore play?
Sven Heursch: Ukraine has been a brutal reminder of what happens when forces need to integrate diverse systems under extreme pressure. Western artillery, air defence, and reconnaissance assets were delivered at speed, but making them communicate took months or even years that soldiers at the front could not afford.
Our answer is the software suite MDOcore – a new integration and coordination framework we are currently developing at HENSOLDT. MDO stands for “Multi Domain Operations” and was chosen as we do not only focus on the tactical level around an indiviudal platform, but take the entire battlefield and smart data transmission into account.
MDOcore is a distributed data management system across various weapon systems and their sensors, allowing us to evaluate, transport, and merge data across domains by using Cloud-Edge IT infrastructures. By using a smart combination of cutting-edge technologies from data science and the AI enivronment it meets all requirements from SDD.
In contested environments with jamming and degraded comms, MDOcore dynamically fuses data, prioritises resources and delivers actionable intelligence within seconds.
Thus, it acts as the backbone for multi-domain operations across land, air, sea, cyber and space, providing information dominance on the battlfield as a pre-requisite for any decision-making. Think of it as a universal translator that ensures a German radar, a French missile battery and an American C2 system can create a shared operational picture in real time.
And the highlight: A soldier can talk or chat with the MDOcore-enabled sensor network, which provides unique and truly actionable information far beyond situation display tools.
What sets HENSOLDT apart is that we understand the data at its source – because we build the sensors. We don’t just integrate information; we secure its quality, timing and context.
A first demonstrator of MDOcore with an extended multi-domain AI-enhanced data fusion capabilitiy will be available in the coming months.
“Hardware wins battles, but software will decide wars.”
European leaders speak increasingly about digital sovereignty. Why should armed forces care about who controls the software?
Sven Heursch: In the 21st century, sovereignty is defined as much by control over data, its aggregation through AI and software, as by the possession of tanks or aircraft. If mission-critical algorithms rely on unchecked data sources, fuse information without a clear assessment of its quality, and operate on foreign cloud-edge infrastructures running compiled code you cannot modify or independently verify, you are effectively surrendering the very basis of your decisions to others — leaving yourself open to manipulation, whether deliberate or inadvertent. That is the very opposite of sovereignty.
As HENSOLDT, we are already training our AI models e.g. for threat recognition under European regulatory frameworks together with national partners, using our own proven full spectrum sensor data. We develop our core software ourselves and have opted for sovereign IT environments to ensure end-to-end control over the data and its lifecycle. This ensures commanders can trust our systems to perform precisely as intended, even in politically strained scenarios.
Digital sovereignty is not isolationism; it is about maintaining control while staying fully interoperable with NATO allies.
The pace of technological change is staggering. How does SDD allow forces to adapt faster than their adversaries?
Sven Heursch: We are witnessing a software arms race. Both in Ukraine and beyond, every new jamming technique is countered by a software patch, every new drone tactic met with new algorithms. Speed of adaptation is now decisive.
Traditionally, weapon systems were locked into 10-20-year upgrade cycles. Today, the weapon system is already obsolete by the time it's delivered because IT innovation cycles have become so fast. We can no longer afford that.
With SDD we flip this model. Updates can be fielded securely within days or even hours. Take our CERETRON solution that is building on MDOcore technologies: new recognition algorithms can be transmitted to combat vehicles or tanks already deployed.
All of this is backed by an agile software development approach also know as DevSecOps: Based on a close exchange with our customer we securely develop new updates continiously based on insights from battles. Before they go live we are using digital twins of our products and solutions and distributed simulation environments for testing the complex distirbuted solution in our battle labs.
That ensures agility without compromising trust and reliability, which are non-negotiable in defence.
“SDD gives European forces the ability to own their digital destiny.”
You speak of a shift from hardware-based products to software capabilities. What exactly does that mean for armed forces?
Sven Heursch: Defence has historically been centred around hardware and military platform procurement. You bought an aircraft, a tank, or a warship with integrated subsystems, and that was your static capability for decades. But the threats we face today change far too quickly for that model.
With SDD, we are moving to a capability-driven approach. Instead of buying “a radar” or “a vehicle”, customers acquire a mission capability – surveillance, air defence, electronic warfare – that can be continuously upgraded through software. Hardware remains essential, but it becomes a host for modular software packages that evolve over time.
This reduces cost and increases flexibility. It means that a system bought today will still be relevant in ten or twenty years, because it can be reconfigured digitally. At HENSOLDT, our new products and solutions will be designed with exactly this philosophy: modular software with a non-disruptive deployment capability that enables forces to adapt rapidly to new missions without waiting for a new procurement cycle. This is also the philosophy behind MDOcore.
There's growing debate about AI and autonomy in defence systems. How does HENSOLDT's SDD approach ensure that humans remain in control whilst still leveraging advanced AI capabilities?
Sven Heursch: We've seen how Ukrainian operators use AI-assisted systems to process vast amounts of sensor data - identifying targets, tracking threats, predicting attack patterns. This will be the key to remaining effective on the battlefield in the future. Therefore, these capabilities must also be incorporated into our products, but for us, the following applies: The human operator makes the final decision. For us, using AI in defence means it needs to enhance human judgement, not replace it.
Our systems are designed with explainable AI and intuitive interfaces that allow an operator to understand why a recommendation was made. For example, in reconnaissance scenarios, AI might classify an object as a threat – but the soldier always sees the reasoning behind it or the statistical reliability and remains the final decision-maker. This human-centric design is also crucial for trust. Soldiers must feel confident that the technology supports them rather than overrides them. In practical terms, this means embedding AI responsibly, ensuring transparency in algorithms, and training operators to work in human-machine teams.
At HENSOLDT, we are already applying these principles in our AI projects for surveillance and protection systems. It is not about autonomous warfare, but about giving soldiers better situational awareness and faster decision cycles, while ensuring ethical and legal compliance.
Looking ahead, what role will SDD play in Europe’s collective defence readiness?
Sven Heursch: Europe stands at a turning point. The EU White Paper on Defence Readiness 2030 is clear: unless we ramp up capabilities, we risk strategic irrelevance.
Germany has committed to being combat-ready by 2029. Achieving this is not just about mass production of tanks or ammunition – it is about quality and adaptability against quantity.
SDD enables exactly that. By networking sensors and platforms into a souvereign combat cloud, by ensuring interoperability across nations, and by putting software at the heart of capability growth, we multiply the effectiveness of our forces.
In short: hardware wins battles, but software will decide wars. With SDD and MDOcore, HENSOLDT is giving Europe the tools to remain sovereign, agile and secure in a world of accelerating threats.
About Sven Heursch
Sven Heursch took over as Head of Software-defined Defence & Digitalisation at HENSOLDT on 1 August 2025. As part of HENSOLDT’s Executive Committee, he is responsible for driving the company’s transition towards scalable, software-centric sensor solutions, AI-powered data fusion and digital services.
Before joining HENSOLDT, Sven served 26 years in the German Bundeswehr as an Air Force officer, reaching the rank of Oberst i.G. (Colonel, General Staff). His career included operational deployments, among them tours in Afghanistan in 2009 and 2010, which provided him with first-hand insights into the realities of modern conflicts. He later transitioned into the consulting industry, adding strategic expertise on how to transform large organisations with a focus on strategy and technology consulting for the global defence industry. This dual background gives him a unique perspective: the operational realities of soldiers at the front line, combined with the strategic understanding of organisational transformation and the technogy challenges on the battlefield. His appointment underscores the central role SDD plays in HENSOLDT’s North Star strategy.
As Sven puts it himself: “I am excited to contribute my experience to HENSOLDT, the pioneer of Software-defined Defence. Together we will shape the digital transformation of defence and develop innovative solutions for tomorrow’s challenges.”