Metis, specialists in providing innovative technologies to detect a wide range of Radio Frequency (RF) threats across diverse sectors, has won a contract to supply a number of Skyperion drone detection systems to a NATO customer to provide the drone detect function as part of an integrated Counter Uncrewed Air Systems (C-UAS) capability. This purchase bolsters the customer’s current capabilities helping safeguard their airspace, key installations and critical infrastructure against the threats posed by rogue drones and is the fourth NATO ally to purchase Skyperion. Due to the sensitive nature of the capability, and to maintain operational advantage, it is not possible to disclose the customer or quantity purchased. However, there are now over 80 Skyperion systems in operation with NATO partners, or deployed supporting their national security interests, in current operations globally.
Metis has its roots in sophisticated signals intelligence gathering technology development and operational experience, which more recently has been increasingly focused on countering the rising asymmetric drone threat. For over 10 years, Metis has been at the forefront of C-UAS RF detection capability development, having originally received government backed research funding to help develop their innovative RF detection technologies, including Skyperion. The Skyperion product range captures RF emissions of varying strengths across the spectrum, filtering out background noise and known entities before rapidly analysing them to identify and locate potential threats.
Metis is an ideal choice for the RF drone detect component because not only do they produce technically superior RF detect products, but they also design and manufacture modular systems with an open architecture, enabling seamless integration with other electronic warfare capabilities and systems. This allows sovereign nations, large primes or systems integrators to easily incorporate Metis products with other best in class technologies, to deliver world leading detection, tracking, identification and defeat of rogue drones.
Unlike many systems, Metis has combined an Open ESM AI enhanced waveform analysis algorithm with a more traditional library database to deliver a self-learning comprehensive RF detect function across a vast array of frequencies. The system can detect a drone signature out to 2.5km and depending on the target, environment and other factors successfully identify a rogue drone out to 10km. The customer will be using these systems in a fixed site role, but the Metis Skyperion Rugged version can be easily transported in its military grade rugged cases, can operate in a mobile role if required and is designed and constructed to survive in the most austere of conditions.
Tony Burnell, CEO of Metis said: “I am extremely proud of the unique RF detect capabilities we field. The ability of our products to detect RF signatures beyond that of our competitors has been proven operationally and during various trials with reassuring regularity. We are very pleased to again have been selected by a major prime to deliver the drone detect function and are proud to be supporting a NATO partner nation with enhanced security. Looking to the future, our diverse capabilities have much greater utility beyond just drone detection and because we maintain an agnostic open architecture, seek to be the provider of choice for RF detection across defence and government organisations globally.“
