AOC Europe is Europe’s most important platform for Electronic Warfare and Electromagnetic Spectrum Operations – and this year it carried a significance that goes well beyond the routine of a trade show. This year’s theme, “Re-Arming Europe for Electromagnetic Spectrum Superiority,” was no abstract conference slogan, but an operational response to a changed world. The war in Ukraine has made it undeniable: those who do not control the electromagnetic spectrum will lose. Drones, GPS jamming, networked EW systems – this is no longer a future scenario. This is the present.
AOC Europe 2026 brought together exhibitors and specialist visitors from armed forces, government agencies, the defense industry, and academia in Helsinki from May 19 to 21. Aaronia AG, headquartered in Strickscheid (Eifel region), was on hand as Gold Sponsor at Booth 4F21, demonstrating what “Made in Germany” means in today’s world: no lab prototypes, no slide decks – but systems running in real time under real-world conditions, from Seoul to Bogotá and beyond.
“This year’s event theme hit exactly where we operate every day,” says Stephan Kraschansky, Chief Defense & Government Solutions Officer at Aaronia AG. “AARTOS is our answer to precisely that challenge: a fully integrated C-UAS and EW detection system that combines RF monitoring, radar, optical tracking, and signal processing into a single unified operational picture.”
This was further underscored by the countless conversations and discussions Kraschansky and his team held in Helsinki – giving specialist visitors from around the world direct insight into the operational capabilities, functionality, and performance of the AARTOS solutions. Interest at the booth was correspondingly high.
Direction Finding in Focus: From Handheld Solutions to Networked Multi-Sensor Architectures
Direction finding was among the most popular topics at Aaronia’s booth in Helsinki. With AARTOS DF2, DF4, and DF9, the company presented a tiered portfolio of integrated DF systems – ranging from compact handheld devices for individual operators to networked multi-sensor architectures for large-area geolocation. Aaronia’s proprietary mesh technology ensures particularly stable, area-wide, fault-tolerant connectivity with consistently high data throughput. At the heart of the lineup are the new-generation IsoLOG DF antennas, supporting AoA real-time direction finding up to 18 GHz, with an extension to 40 GHz currently in development. Through the integration of Power-of-Arrival (PoA) and Time-Difference-of-Arrival (TDoA) algorithms, signals in the lower frequency range can also be reliably detected, classified, and localized. Combining multiple systems enables automatic 3D triangulation of transmitters and full recording of flight paths including GPS position and altitude – in under one microsecond. At Helsinki, Aaronia introduced its AARTOS DF solutions to a professional audience for the first tim
SPARK: The Signal Generator for EW Development, Radar Simulation, and 5G/6G Prototyping
Another highlight at the booth was the SPECTRAN SPARK – Aaronia’s new high-performance AWG and DDS signal generator. With a frequency range of 9 kHz to 20 GHz, a sampling rate of up to 40 GSPS, a 16-bit DAC, and a phase noise floor of −140 dBc/Hz, the SPARK sets new benchmarks for precision wideband signal generation. The 4-channel multi-vector 64-bit DDS generator with a vector depth of up to one million samples is equally suited for EW jamming development, radar and spoofing simulations, and 5G/6G protocol prototyping – and, thanks to 25 ps gates and 50 fs jitter, even for driving superconducting quantum processors. Control and power supply are available via USB or Ethernet.
Complete Solutions for Every Requirement – Customizable to Specification
What Aaronia further demonstrated in Helsinki is the sheer breadth of its portfolio: from mobile handheld systems and vehicle-integrated solutions to stationary multi-sensor architectures for critical infrastructure, the AARTOS DDS ecosystem – available in variants X2 through X9 – addresses civilian, government, and military EW requirements alike. The antenna portfolio spans the IsoLOG DF antennas (AoA up to 18 GHz), the PowerLOG and PowerLOG PRO covering 300 MHz to 70 GHz, the HyperLOG PRO family covering 700 MHz to 40 GHz, and additional broadband antennas for mobile and stationary applications – all combinable and configurable to specific operational profiles.
The software backbone of all solutions is the RTSA-Suite PRO: the fastest real-time spectrum analysis software on the market, enabling fully automatic pulse classification, real-time demodulation, a 3D map view with RF propagation models, and Record & Replay of the full I/Q bandwidth up to 245 MHz with “Smart Buffering” for virtually unlimited recording duration. Updates are released daily.
