For two days, about fifty Airmen, divided into eight teams from the Constellation network, gathered at the Rochefort Air Base to participate in the “Constellation Challenge”, a competition aimed at stimulating collective innovation in support of the operational mission. Aimed at Airmen, this competition aims to concretely address operational issues in line with the strategic plan of General Jérôme Bellanger, Chief of Staff of the Air and Space Army.
For the 2026 edition, the challenge for the teams was to imagine local, autonomous, and cost-effective solutions for deception, hardening, and camouflage. Passive defense requires investing fully in its four essential pillars to ensure resilience and the protection of military installations. The challenge is part of the Constellation network, which brings together several innovation labs within the AAE. These connected labs, known as “labs”, are tasked with designing and experimenting with solutions as close to the field as possible.
Projects addressing concrete problems rewarded
Inside the “Cube”, an ideation space dedicated to training in new technologies at the 721 Air Base, the ten teams took on the challenge with commitment and creativity. In a collaborative spirit driven by the field, this edition distinguished several innovative projects. The BENTROX project, led by the Human Factors Laboratory of the Air Warfare Center, won the challenge with a decoy solution based on the automation of Mototok vehicles, electric vehicles used to move aircraft on the ground, to enhance the discretion of hangars and shelters for A330 MRTT refueling aircraft.
Other initiatives were also rewarded. The VEGECAM project, led by the digital Campus of Rochefort and Saintes, focuses on roof camouflage through vegetalization. The RUBIS program, developed by the Cube, offers innovative solutions to increase the discretion and resilience of MRTT-related infrastructures. Lastly, the VERT project from the school for non-commissioned officers of the Air and Space Army was praised by the jury for its strong potential and the remarkable commitment of its young leaders. These projects will receive support from the Constellation network and the Air and Space Army Territorial Command to accelerate their development and quickly materialize demonstrators.
The success of this edition relies on the commitment of all involved parties, including the teams at the 721 Air Base, the Cube staff, and the members of the Constellation Council. True to its motto “dream, dare, and defy limits”, the Constellation Challenge stands as a genuine driver of collective innovation. Today more than ever, the operational solutions of tomorrow are built together.
