The IT service provider for the German armed forces, BWI GmbH, has signed an agreement with Google Cloud to use its air-gapped on-premises offering.

BWI will deploy the air-gapped version of Google Distributed Cloud (GDC) within its data centers to create a secure cloud for Germany's armed forces (AKA, Bundeswehr), dubbed pCloudBW.

GDC is Google's on-premise offering, bringing Google Cloud hardware to an organization's data center. The first version of GDC was launched in 2021, with the cloud provider introducing the air-gapped offering in the summer of 2024, which enables Google Cloud services to be accessed even without access to the Internet.

BWI will use GDC to set up two separate cloud instances for the Bundeswehr, which will be used for processing both open and protected data. The cloud is expected to be operational by the end of 2027.

Tara Brady, president of EMEA at Google Cloud, said: "We understand the critical importance of data security, especially for the German Armed Forces, and our solutions are designed to provide them with the highest levels of security and control. Our commitment to this principle drives us to continuously innovate and deliver the most robust and trusted solutions on the market."

BWI uses a multi-cloud approach, according to Frank Leidenberger, CEO of BWI, who said that this means the organization can maintain digital sovereignty while ensuring that the most cost-effective cloud solution can be used for every operational requirement.

"With Google Cloud Air-Gapped as part of pCloudBw, the Bundeswehr receives a solution that it can actively manage, thus expanding its operational capability," added Leidenberger.

In late 2024, the BWI provided deployable and modular data centers to the Bundeswehr under the German Mission Network Block 1 project. The data centers form a logical unit together with the stationary bases in the country and are relocatable, connected to existing stationary data centers.

Last month, Singapore's Home Team Science and Technology Agency signed an MoU with Google Cloud to also use the Google Distributed Cloud (GDC) Air Gapped offering. The deployment is planned for this year.