BAE Systems’ Digital Intelligence business has selected MARSS to provide the command-and-control system for BATS, its counter-drone capability, the two companies announced on June 16, 2026, the second day of the Eurosatory defense exhibition in Paris.
MARSS’ AI-powered NiDAR platform will serve as the central command-and-control interface for the BAE Systems Anti Threat System (BATS), integrating sensors and effectors into a single system. The aim is to bring detection and defeat systems into one operating picture and reduce the workload on operators.
The agreement was signed at the show by Johannes Pinl, founder and chief executive of MARSS, and Louise Heywood, head of strategy at BAE Systems Digital Intelligence. Under the arrangement, MARSS will provide software licensing and technical support for BAE Systems’ counter-drone demonstrations and deployments.
From minutes to seconds
MARSS said NiDAR uses AI-enabled command-and-control to speed up detection, classification, and response, reducing the decision cycle from minutes to seconds.
“We built NiDAR to be AI-enabled because operators can no longer cope with the volume,” Pinl said. “It is designed for single drones, coordinated attacks, and massive swarms, and we have spent years developing an automated kill chain to keep up.”
He mentioned that, as of the signing, the most recent drone fired from Iran toward the Gulf had been engaged by NiDAR.
An open architecture built around NiDAR
BAE Systems described BATS as an open-architecture counter-drone solution developed over roughly the past nine months.
“We see growing demand across Europe, the UK, the Middle East, and the Far East,” Heywood commented. “Very short-range air defense at scale is increasingly needed to protect critical infrastructure and borders.”
NiDAR will serve as the central interface, but the architecture is designed to allow other systems to be integrated later, including additional capabilities from Electro Optic Systems, the parent group that announced its acquisition of MARSS on January 12, 2026, as well as third-party hardware.