How Germany’s military using radar to keep birds from colliding with aircraft

The German Armed Forces is developing a radar-based software system designed to give operators early warnings about potential collisions between birds and aircraft.

Known as VoVisWxBw, the system is capable of analysing more than 800,000 radar data points every hour in real time, the German military, known in German as the Bundeswehr, announced this week.

It is presenting the information through both two- and three-dimensional visualizations. In addition to tracking bird movements as they happen, the system stores previous radar observations in an optimized database, allowing personnel to compare historical information with current conditions and identify developing risks.

VoVisWxBw was jointly developed by the Bundeswehr’s Center for Digitalization and Capability Development of the Cyber and Information Domain and the Center for Geoinformation.

The system is being introduced amid growing concerns over the annual migration of billions of birds across Germany, which can pose a significant safety risk to aircraft operating in the country’s airspace.

The Bundeswehr records more than 130 bird strikes involving its aircraft every year. In 2024, around 10 percent of wildlife-strike-related incidents recorded during its flight operations resulted in damage.

VoVisWxBw is designed to address the problem by monitoring bird activity while also rapidly providing personnel with assessments of current threats and corresponding warning messages.

The software uses film loops to illustrate the movement of bird flocks, making it easier for operators to identify and interpret their flight patterns. It also incorporates geographical information showing bird sanctuaries and other protected areas, allowing potential risk zones to be identified more easily.

Access to the system is controlled through a role-based permission structure, which ensures that sensitive information is only available to authorized personnel.

The information generated by VoVisWxBw is also incorporated directly into BIRDTAM (Bird Notice to Airmen) reports, which are distributed to both military and civilian aviation users.

“VoVisWxBw demonstrates how modern technologies and agile methods can concretely improve the operational capability of the German Armed Forces – including in specialized areas such as bird migration consulting,” the announcement stated.

“Especially given the increasing demands on airspace safety, this project makes an important contribution: more precise data and faster analysis for flight operations.”

Until 2025, the Bundeswehr had relied on an older software solution to process radar data for bird-migration warnings. The military said that system had become technically outdated and was only marginally maintainable, prompting the development of the new platform.

By Nazrin Sadigova