La Verne, CA: AARDVARK and Sky-Hero are pleased to announce the release of the world’s first National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) compliant interior use tactical sUAS, LOKI Mk2US. The Mk2US is built to comply with the rigorous standards set forth in the NDAA and the recent Department of Defense black-listing of certain Chinese-made drone parts and technologies.

In response, Sky-Hero, the world’s leading manufacturer of interior tactical robotics, redesigned and resourced the LOKI Mk2 to eliminate all of the covered Chinese components and replace them with European or American items.

Speaking about this new drone, Yves Coppye, CEO of Sky-Hero, stated:

“We have been asked by many of our top users around the world to ensure that all major components are built by NATO countries. After two years of work we are pleased to announce that we have reengineered and redesigned these components and located American or European sources for them.”

Jon Becker, AARDVARK’s CEO, echoed this by stating:

“We are extremely excited to see Sky-Hero release an NDAA-compliant version of LOKI. While there are a number of products on the market that claim to be American, in reality, the large majority of drones are simply built with Chinese-made parts and at best assembled in the US. LOKI Mk2US has always been made by NATO allies and now every NDAA covered component will be too.”

The LOKI Mk2US will begin shipping in Q1 of 2023. LOKI Mk2 is sold exclusively in North America by AARDVARK. Visit LOKI.AARDVARKTactical.com to learn more.

DroneShield is pleased to announce it has been recommended by the U.S. DoD’s Joint Counter-small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Office (JCO) as part of the Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) joint solution for Counter-UAS as a Service (CaaS).

The JCO formalized its recommendation of three approved solutions after thorough evaluation at Yuma Proving Ground earlier this year. The SAIC team, “developed and demonstrated a robust SoS (System of Systems) architecture, with layered sensors and effectors to cover long range to mobile to last-line-of defense,” the JCO recommendation stated.

The multi-layered and comprehensive solution presented by the SAIC team leveraged several of DroneShield’s dismounted, mobile, and fixed-site detection sensors and electronic countermeasures.

Matt McCrann, DroneShield US CEO, commented, “We are pleased to complement the overall SAIC solution with key components for both extended-range detection and defeat. We look forward to supporting this partnership and further expansion of critical Counter-UAS capabilities across the services.”

SAIC is a Fortune 500 technology integrator, headquartered in Reston, Virginia, with annual revenues of approximately $12 billion. SAIC supports the defense, space, civilian and intelligence markets with mission critical solutions.

The JCO was established in 2019, as the US DoD’s Executive Agent office for all C-UAS activities. This recommendation follows the recent $1.8 million DroneGun MKIII acquisition by the U.S. DoD in September 2022.

Image: DroneShield DroneSentry system including RfOne detection sensors and DroneCannon defeat devices

SNC Acquires Volansi Portfolio to Deliver UAV Solutions that Fly Anywhere, Anytime

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Oct. 10, 2022) – Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) today announced it has acquired the portfolio of assets and intellectual property related to the Voly-50 and Voly-T series of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) produced previously by Volansi. The move reaffirms SNC’s commitment to delivering a next-generation, multi-role, long-haul, vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) platform to customers across the DOD and establishing SNC as a leading solution provider in the UAV space.

“SNC is committed to delivering a future unmanned system with the payload, range and endurance that our military needs,” said Tim Owings executive vice president of SNC’s Mission Solutions and Technologies (MST) business area. “Adding the Volansi capabilities to the existing SNC portfolio was a perfect fit. Our complementary technologies will create a world where mission-tailored VTOL drones make it possible to support any industry, to deliver anything, anywhere, anytime.”

With the close of the deal, SNC also acquired Volansi’s production facility in Bend, Oregon and retained key personnel.

The Voly-50 and Voly-T series of infrastructure-independent aerial drones can take off and land vertically, leveraging the sky for unlimited possibilities and endless connections. Combining the Voly technology with SNC’s exceptional open architecture systems, sensor integrations, and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities results in a rapidly deployable unmanned ISR VTOL solution for multi-domain operations.

Utilizing the Voly-50 series design as the foundation, SNC’s VTOL offering has a small operational footprint and can easily operate in difficult terrain and contested spaces for tactical resupply missions. It is built for endurance, with the ability to handle heavy payloads, while a turnkey ISR system gives users the ability to see, track and understand the battlespace more completely.

SNC also leverages the extensive expertise of its subsidiary, Kutta Technologies Inc., in its VTOL offering. Kutta – a respected leader in safety-critical unmanned systems software – contributes to the redundancy and durability required to complete even the toughest DOD missions by ensuring DO-178 compliance and adherence to interoperability standards.

“SNC wanted to keep the dream alive by bringing to fruition the ability to support both ISR and humanitarian aid missions, reaching locations that were once unreachable to deliver survival kits, blankets, food, and water,” said Josh Walsh, vice president of programs for SNC’s MST business area. “The Volansi systems are unique because they offer the military a new generation of flexible UAVs that provide long-haul aircraft with superior flight range, flexible payload capacity and the ability to fly beyond visual line of sight.”

For many years, SNC has invested heavily in internal research and development of emerging technologies, shifting its product development approach to smaller SWAP, open architecture systems and platform-agnostic solutions that allow for faster modification and integration based on customer mission needs. SNC has a proven, 60-year heritage of creating complex technology solutions, including more than 30 years of experience in developing, integrating and engineering unmanned systems to reduce warfighter casualties in combat ISR scenarios. As a leader in unmanned systems, SNC has made significant strides in emerging technologies including artificial intelligence and electronic warfare.

For more information, visit www.sncorp.com.

DroneShield is pleased to advise that it has launched a dedicated testing facility in regional New South Wales. The facility will significantly streamline the testing and release of advanced drone detection technologies in development by the Company.

Image: DroneSentry system at DroneShield test site facility in regional NSW

This is DroneShield’s first dedicated testing facility in both New South Wales and Australia.

Oleg Vornik, DroneShield’s CEO, commented “As we continue to grow our advanced drone detection and defeat technologies, there is an increasing need for a locally based test site, that meets our operational requirements as well as being compliant with Government regulations.”

“This permanent facility enables fully remote testing by our engineering team, with real time data shared with our engineering headquarters in Sydney. This enables faster development cycles of our AI-enabled radiofrequency, image recognition, and sensorfusion technologies, which are pushed out to our subscribed customers on a quarterly release cycle.”

“Importantly, Australia is a key customer market for DroneShield, and having a dedicated local facility is expected to further enhance our work with Australian customers, both from a sovereign capability perspective and a way to conduct customer demonstrations.”