Main image: Intelic CEO Maurits Korthals Altes (left), Jeroen Lappenschaar, and Marc Derksen. © Intelic
The Dutch Ministry of Defence is investing tens of millions of euros in a three-year partnership with the Dutch company Intelic, which develops software for drone systems.
This was reported by AD.nl.
“The Ministry of Defence is concluding, for the first time, an agreement that gives the state the option of acquiring a so-called ‘golden share’ in a defence company. It concerns an investment of several tens of millions of euros in the Amsterdam-based company Intelic, which develops software for controlling drones,” the report says.
The exact amount of the investment has not been disclosed for security reasons and due to commercial sensitivity.
Intelic is developing software that will allow the Dutch military to control drones from different manufacturers and types through a unified system.
The government aims to gain greater control over the country’s defence industry. This is intended to protect strategically important companies from foreign takeovers and reduce the Netherlands’ dependence on foreign weapons producers. At the same time, state participation in the company’s capital may make it easier for it to access financing and attract investors. However, this arrangement also provides additional state powers, including veto rights over certain corporate decisions and new shareholders.
State Secretary for Defence Derk Boswijk said that Intelic is of strategic importance for national defence.
“We often talk about drones and think primarily about the aircraft themselves. But the software for controlling them is no less important,” he emphasized.
CEO of Intelic Maurits Korthals Altes said that in the future all Dutch armed forces drone operators will be trained on the company’s software.
According to him, the state investment will help turn Intelic into an internationally successful company.
