A MODERN-DAY version of the Enigma machine is being rapidly created by the West to help defeat its enemies – with it already helping Ukraine.
A cutting-edge software is currently undergoing field tests as part of military technology to forecast and deter potential Russian assaults proactively.
Developed by SensusQ, a company in Estonia, the Winning Minds software can efficiently analyze and interpret live data from conflict zones into useful insights and statistics.
This has proven vital on the battlefield in Ukraine across the past three and a half years on the ground, in the air and at sea.
The technology combines decades of military and intelligence experience with a top team of software engineers.
The official SensusQ team describe their invention as “the tool they wished they had” available during their own war time experiences.
Erik Markus Kannike, CSO at SensusQ, told The Sun: “We’re unique in the sense that we’re focusing more on the kind of smartness behind war.
“We’re not producing physical drones or weapons systems but what we do is try to bring that intelligence part of fighting into the 21st century.
“Many people usually think it’s already very high tech and as you see in the Hollywood movies but in fact, it’s mostly still pen and paper.
“What we see in Ukraine, for example, you have hundreds of drones, if not thousands, currently in the air, all of which are producing information.
“And you have social media and things from satellites but how do you actually manage all this information and make sense of it?”
This is where SensusQ comes in as it is able to automatically process this data and find connections between it all.
This can then be presented to people in the simplest form possible so it is easily understandable.
Erik also revealed that they have already been partnered with various parties in Ukraine since early on in the war.
These range from military users to even law enforcement.
While unable to provide specific details about the operations or parties involved, a representative mentioned that the ultimate goal is to assist in interpreting crucial information that could otherwise be overlooked.
The main goal is always to be more effective, to use your resources more effectively and to save lives
Erik Markus Kannike
There is also a secure app called Verdandi used by soldiers on the ground who file real-time reports on all wartime activity.
Another aspect of SensusQ’s technology that sets them apart is how the data is used and shared.
Whoever is in command of the system – Ukrainian officials for example – control the entire thing.
They can program it as they like, deploy it when they want to and the results remain a secret to them only.
SensusQ as a company don’t receive the data themselves meaning all the results can stay classified.
One of the other key areas is the time it takes for the device to collect the data.
On a battlefield, the situation can rapidly change day-to-day meaning that a lot of information has to be short term and quickly adjusted.
This means any system must be able to kick into action fast – and the Winning Minds tech can often be set up within a few hours.
We’re not producing physical drones or weapons systems but what we do is try to bring that intelligence part of fighting into the 21st century
Erik Markus Kannike
SensusQ has now even developed a system which involves digital maps which helps with “situational understanding” in conflict zones.
“You’re able to actually look at long-term patterns and you’re able to see who’s connected to what,” Erik added.
“Then, based on this information, you’re already able to start predicting.
“If you are actively fighting, the pace is such that you rarely have the time to actually do detailed analysis and craft future plans but with our system it allows them to actually have that perspective and to present it.
“The main goal is always to be more effective, to use your resources more effectively and to save lives.”
What was the enigma machine?
THE Enigma machine was a secret cipher device used by Nazi Germany during World War II to encode and decode secret messages.
It was an electromechanical device that utilised a series of rotors and a plugboard to create complex encryptions around what the Nazis had planned.
The secrecy of the device made it extremely difficult to decipher what was being talked about without the correct settings to unlock it.
The machine played a significant role in military communications for years before it was finally cracked by a clever allied team.
In total, there were around a billion possible combinations which were required to use the system.
The Brit often credited with solving the war-saving puzzle is Alan Turing.
The cracking of the Enigma codes is widely regarded as one of the greatest achievements in cryptography and intelligence history.
SensusQ has been designed to essentially eliminate mistakes in war and ensure that no information obtained ever goes to waste, Erik said.
He also spoke on how valuable the Ukraine war has been to help develop the system over the past few years.
Erik said: “The lessons we’ve learned from Ukraine, and we are still learning are invaluable.
“They’ve affected a lot of how the system works as there’s some things that you cannot imagine.
“The pace of innovation in Ukraine is quite incredible so we continuously take those lessons learned and integrate into our software.”
Could the UK ever use the tech?
Erik says the SensusQ software is available to whichever allied nation needs it most at any given time.
The tech is set to be a major player in the world of combat should a continental conflict ever break out or even a world war.
The lessons learnt in Ukraine have already helped out other European states, Erik says.
This is because the information collected on the battlefields of Kursk, Donetsk and beyond are already being reflected and passed on to other clients.
Erik also noted that the UK in particular would be in a similar position to Ukraine should they go to war with a larger nation such as Russia or even China.
The world can and SHOULD learn from Ukraine
EXPERTS have said the way Ukraine has handled themselves in their gruelling conflict is something other military’s can aspire towards.
Kyiv has constantly come up with new plans of attack from the use of SensusQ to its ingenuous guerrilla warfare tactics to deplete Vlad’s army.
Colonel Hamish De Bretton Gordon told The Sun: “They’ve changed the way we fight, and the use of AI to control multiple thousands of drones at a time is something all us military people are looking at and learning from.
“I know that the British army itself is looking at it, to see how they can learn.
“How can they fight as effectively as these, in effect, amateurs who have very quickly become a professional.
“The ways of fighting and technology always accelerate during warfare, and we’ve had over three years of it now.
“What we must do as a country is make sure we’re absolutely up to speed, and are learning and copying all the really good things that Ukraine has done.”
He said: “The key, as we’re seeing both in the UK and in Europe, is we understand that numerically and maybe in terms of equipment, it’s hard to compete with whoever our potential adversaries are.
“Take Russia, they have a million personnel and quite a large capacity to rejuvenate their equipment and their armoured vehicles etc.
“So what needs to happen is that we need to use what we have in a smarter way so choosing what to hit becomes more and more important.
“So you have to have what we call decision dominance where you need to understand the enemy better than the enemy understands themselves.
“And this is what we aim to provide to the entire alliance.”
