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GA-ASI Partners with EDGE to Integrate Smart Weapons onto MQ-9B

Tuesday, November 14th, 2023

GA-ASI and EDGE Will Integrate Range of Smart Weapons Onto SkyGuardian®

DUBAI AIRSHOW – 13 November 2023 – General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI), a leading designer and manufacturer of proven, reliable Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) systems, radars, electro-optics, and related mission systems, and EDGE, a world-leading advanced technology group for defence and beyond, announced an agreement today to integrate EDGE smart weapons onto GA-ASI’s MQ-9B SkyGuardian® RPA.

Under the agreement announced at the Dubai Airshow, the two companies will work together to integrate precision-guided munition (PGM) and guided-glide weapon (GGW) solutions from EDGE onto GA-ASI’s MQ-9B SkyGuardian.

“We’re excited to work with EDGE on this initiative,” said GA-ASI President David R. Alexander. “Integrating home-grown capabilities onto our customer platforms is something we’ve done a lot, but we’ve never before integrated a non-NATO weapon system onto one of our RPA platforms.”

The partnership marks the first time that UAE-made smart weapons will be integrated onto a U.S. unmanned platform, signalling a new chapter in U.S.-UAE defence cooperation, and opening the door to further collaboration.

Hamad Al Marar, President of EDGE Group’s Missiles & Weapons cluster, said, “We are proud to be working with General Atomics Aeronautical. The opportunity to integrate our smart weapons on the MQ-9B SkyGuardian will offer the end user multiple dynamic, highly accurate, and cost-effective ground strike solutions. We look forward to working closely with General Atomics Aeronautical on this programme and to enhancing our collaboration in the future.”

The EDGE smart weapons designated for integration include the DESERT STING family of GGWs and THUNDER family of cost-effective PGMs from HALCON, and the AL TARIQ family of modular, mission-proven, all-weather day/night long-range PGMs.

GA-ASI hopes that its work with EDGE will lead to more partnerships within the UAE defence industry in order to integrate domestically developed sensors and weapons onto the MQ-9B for the UAE and other customers.

The UAE Armed Forces currently operate GA-ASI’s Predator XP and are working with GA-ASI and the U.S. Department of Defense to acquire the MQ-9B.

Attendees of the Dubai Airshow can visit GA-ASI at stand 1380 and EDGE and its portfolio of companies at indoor stand 520 and outdoor stand S49 at Dubai World Central.

Posted in Press Release, UAS, weapons | Comments Off on GA-ASI Partners with EDGE to Integrate Smart Weapons onto MQ-9B

Elistair Unveils KHRONOS Push-Button, Tethered Drone for Tactical ISR missions

Tuesday, November 14th, 2023

Drone-in-a-box solution designed for operation from vehicles and fixed platforms

PARIS—November 14, 2023—Elistair, a leader in long-endurance, tethered unmanned aircraft systems, announced today the unveiling of KHRONOS, a fully automated tethered drone system designed for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) missions in challenging, GPS/GNSS-denied and RF-denied environments.

Deployed from a transportable dronebox in under two minutes, KHRONOS can operate from both fixed and mobile platforms with minimal human input, enabling operators on the move their own “pocket watchtower” without a heavy investment in training.

“KHRONOS represents a significant milestone for Elistair,” said company CEO Guilhem de Marliave. “Public safety agencies, border patrol units, military forces and even vehicle integrators have all been looking for a simple, organic, long-endurance ISR asset that can be launched at the push of a button—and now they finally have it.”

Elistair has been developing and delivering tethered drones to customers in more than 70 countries for close to a decade. The 66-pound KHRONOS leverages that experience. It is easily deployed from a dronebox to deliver a continuous, day/night aerial view extending over a 10-kilometer radius for 24 hours a stretch.

In addition to being ruggedized for operation off-road and in poor weather, KHRONOS can operate in both GPS/GNSS-Denied and RF-denied environments, thanks to its advanced positioning system and secured tethered communications. And with its small logistical footprint, and its open API, it can be easily integrated with vehicles.

“The aim behind KHRONOS was clear: we wanted to a tethered drone that’s straightforward to use, adaptable to various scenarios, integrates seamlessly, and is robust in construction for demanding environments,” said Elistair CTO Timothée Penet.

Powered by T-Planner 2, the newest version of Elistair mission software, KHRONOS benefits from the latest intelligent functions, such as target tracking, automated object categorization, and cued camera slewing to points of interests.

Elistair plans to deliver its first KHRONOS systems to customers in January 2024.

Posted in International, Milipol, Press Release, UAS | Comments Off on Elistair Unveils KHRONOS Push-Button, Tethered Drone for Tactical ISR missions

DroneShield and Lockheed Martin Collaboration

Monday, November 13th, 2023

• DroneShield and Lockheed Martin Australia collaborate on Agile Shield Program

• DroneShield’s DroneCannon Mk2 wide area non-kinetic effector integrated into Lockheed Martin’s architecture

DroneShield (“DroneShield” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce its collaboration with Lockheed Martin Australia’s Science, Technology, Engineering, Leadership and Research Laboratory (STELaRLab).

As part of this collaboration, DroneCannon Mk2, DroneShield’s wide area non-kinetic effector, has been integrated into Lockheed Martin Australia’s Agile Shield Program.

Agile Shield has been developed under the Next Generation Technologies Fund framework, as part of DST Group’s Counter Improvised Threats Grand Challenge and is initially designed to counter uncrewed aerial systems (C-UAS).

Kevin McDonald, STELaRLab’s Integrated Systems Lead for Agile Shield, commented: “The system brings together a number of Australian sensors and effectors with an open mission architecture to provide a rapid, scalable and flexible response to airborne threats. STELaRLab’s contribution included development of the open mission systems architecture and acting as the prime systems integrator.”

“The addition of proven C-UAS jammers, such as DroneCannon Mk2, is part of Agile Shield’s planned transition from the virtual world to field demonstrations which occurred in October 2023.”

DroneCannon Mk2, DroneShield’s wide area non-kinetic effector

Red McClintock, DroneShield Sales Director, added: “DroneCannon Mk2 is a globally recognised effector, in use both in the eastern-European theatre as well as being selected and recommended by the U.S. DoD for base protection requirements. We are excited to be working with Lockheed Martin and DST Group’s Agile Shield program and are looking forward to growing this business relationship.”

Posted in Industry, International, Press Release, UAS | Comments Off on DroneShield and Lockheed Martin Collaboration

DroneShield Teams with ADF Drone Racing Association

Sunday, November 12th, 2023

• DroneShield teams with Australian Defence Force (ADF) Drone Racing Association and becomes its sponsor

• Enables for deeper collaboration between ADF drone pilots and DroneShield for C-UAS system design, operational learning and field tactics

DroneShield (“DroneShield” or the “Company”) is pleased to launch a collaboration with the Australian Defence Force (“ADF”) Drone Racing Association (“Association”) and become a Team sponsor. The teaming will enhance its C-UAS system design, operational learning and field tactics.

The ADF Drone Racing Association is represented by the ADF’s fastest drone racing pilots from the Navy, Army and Air Force and have achieved exponential success since its formation in 2017.

The sponsorship and collaboration between DroneShield and the Association will include:

• Systematically testing DroneShield equipment against the drones deployed by the Association, enabling two-way development of both DroneShield’s C-UAS systems, and the Association’s drone arsenal, influencing further development

• Collaboration around system design, operational learning and field tactics, including drone swarming attack patterns

• Deepening of relationships between Australian foremost minds in drones in military applications, and the leading sovereign C-UAS capability development

ADF Drone Racing Team pilots flying through a 155m artillery barrage of Australian Army M777 units

Wing Commander Keirin Joyce, ADF Drone Racing Association president, commented “We are excited to enter into teaming with DroneShield, including testing our drone strategies at DroneShield’s test site in Blue Mountains and exchange knowledge, and being a part of sovereign C-UAS capability development.

Oleg Vornik, DroneShield’s CEO, added “The ADF Drone Racing Association contains some of the best drone pilots in the country in the military context, flying small, ultra-fast drones at over 150km/hr, in unique and challenging settings. There is a large amount of operational learnings between our teams, and we look forward to the collaboration. This is a significant red-teaming opportunity for DroneShield to continue to stay at the edge of C-UAS capabilities globally.”

Command container module deployed at DroneShield’s Blue Mountains test site, to be used for collaboration with the ADF Drone Racing Association

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Launch of SensorFusionAI

Monday, October 23rd, 2023

• DroneShield launches SensorFusionAI (SFAI), a sensor-agnostic, 3D data fusion engine for complex environments

• Currently deployed as a module in DroneSentry-C2, DroneShield’s Command-and-Control (C2) system

• This launch enables SFAI as a standalone module which can integrate into third party C2 systems on SaaS basis, providing smart fusion capability from diverse sensor arrays

DroneShield (“DroneShield” or the “Company”) is pleased to launch SensorFusionAI (SFAI), a sensor-agnostic, 3D data fusion engine for complex environments.

Angus Bean, DroneShield’s CTO, commented “Detection of drones or Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) is moving towards multi-sensor approach for fixed site (and in certain situations, vehicle and ship systems) where the space and budget allows for such approach, due to ability to provide better detection results with multiple sensor modalities, such as radiofrequency, radar, acoustic and camera systems, either deployed in a single or across multiple nodes.”

“However the multi-sensor approach only generates better results, with an intelligent software engine to fuse together the sensor outputs and give an intelligent set of outputs – otherwise adding more sensors is counterproductive as it creates more data without a clear way to manage it.”

DroneShield has developed a true AI-based sensorfusion engine, initially for its own DroneSentry-C2 command-and-control system, including all common drone detection modalities (RF, radar, acoustics, camera).

This separation enables third party C2 manufacturers (including primes) to add SFAI to their C2 systems, on a subscription basis (SaaS), thus improving the performance.

Oleg Vornik, DroneShield’s CEO, added “DroneShield seeks to be both the complete supplier of C-UAS solutions where possible, or a subcontractor where it makes sense. There will be numerous situations globally where the customer has an existing preference for another C2 supplier, based on their existing relationships or other requirements. Providing SFAI to such third party suppliers, maximises our market share and further monetises the IP that we have developed.”

Key feature of SFAI include:

• Behaviour Analysis – Track an object to determine classification and predict trajectory.

• Threat Assessment – Intelligently determine threat level based on a wide range of data types.

• Confidence Levels – Designed for complex, high noise environments, with inconsistent data inputs.

• After-Action Reporting – Sophisticated analytics presented in easy to interpret graphical dashboards.

• Edge Processing – Utilises an edge processing device (SmartHub) for reduced network load and high scalability.

• Versatile Adaptable Inputs – New sensors use existing software adaptors to improve integration time.

• Output to Any Platform – Visualisation on DroneSentry-C2 or third-party C2 platforms, data analysis, alert systems or security management software.

SFAI has significant advantages over traditional multi-sensor C2 engines, whereby system sensors are utilised for their strengths with their weaknesses offset by the strengths of sensor types:

• System intelligently builds a model informed by all inputs over time.

• Confidence values allow for soft sensitivity selection, reducing false positives or false negatives.

• Prediction model can interpolate paths for consistent tracking even with sparse data.

• Any incomplete or contradictory data mediated by comprehensive object model.

• All sensor data fused into one consistent intelligence packet.

Posted in AI / ML, Press Release, UAS | Comments Off on Launch of SensorFusionAI

DroneShield to Host Inaugural Counterdrone Event at Indo Pacific

Sunday, October 22nd, 2023

• DroneShield to host its Inaugural Counterdrone Event at Indo Pacific Exhibition held in Sydney on 8 November 2023

• Speakers include leading minds across military, industry and policy sectors

• Registrations available for Military, Industry and Media

DroneShield (“DroneShield” or the “Company”) is pleased to host its inaugural event counterdrone event at Indo Pacific Exhibition, held 7-9 November at the Sydney Convention Centre.

The event will be held on 8 November, with further details available here.

The event is free to attend at no cost, for all Indo Pacific 2023 trade visitors, exhibitors and conference delegates. Registration can be done here.

Angus Bean, DroneShield’s CTO, commented “Unmanned Systems have been extensively involved in warfare and terrorism across virtually all conflicts globally over last several years, and continuing to rise.”

“We are pleased to host the very first dedicated Australian event in this area in conjunction with AMDA, where the audience can hear from thought leaders across military, industry and policy areas. The backdrop of Indo Pacific, the largest military exhibition in Australia in 2023, provides attendees with a complete experience.”

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Huneed Technologies Signs MOU to Supply Flat Panel Array to GA-ASI

Saturday, October 21st, 2023

SAN DIEGO – 19 October 2023 – During a ceremony at ADEX (Seoul International Aerospace & Defense Exhibition) on Oct. 18, 2023, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Huneed Technologies for the Korean company to produce a flat panel array for GA-ASI’s Lynx® and Eagle-Eye Multi-mode Radar systems. The Lynx radar is used on several models of GA-ASI’s line of Unmanned Aircraft Systems, including the MQ-9A Reaper and MQ-20 Avenger®, while Eagle-Eye is featured on MQ-1C Gray Eagle Extended Range (ER) and 25M models. Huneed’s flat panel array technology will be incorporated into a new common radar antenna subsystem for GA-ASI’s radar products.

Huneed Technologies, a global aerospace and defense company that specializing in tactical communication and avionics equipment, has been a long-time partner of GA-ASI. In 2022, Huneed was contracted to supply Circuit Card Assemblies for GA-ASI’s line of unmanned aircraft. Huneed signed its first MOU with GA-ASI in 2017, and in 2021 the MOU was renewed.

“Huneed is Korea’s leading defense and aviation company with a long track record of establishing successful business relationships with a number of global OEMs in the aerospace industry. Huneed possesses advanced processes and production capabilities to join our global supply chain, and we appreciate Huneed’s long-term partnership,” said Jaime Walters, vice president of International Strategic Development at GA-ASI.

GA-ASI is manufacturer of UAS operated by the U.S. and international partners as an intelligence-gathering and strike-capable asset. GA-ASI has delivered more than 1,000 unmanned aircraft since its founding in 1992 and its aircraft have flown over 8 million hours. GA-ASI’s newest and most advanced aircraft, the MQ-9B SkyGuardian® and SeaGuardian®, are tailored to meet the multi-domain and multi-environmental needs of its customers.

Huneed’s Chairman Eugene Kim said: “Unmanned technology is crucial for global security, safeguarding pilots while improving battlefield monitoring. Partnering with GA-ASI showcases Huneed’s capabilities, and we are dedicated to demonstrating excellence in our contributions.”

Posted in Industry, International, Press Release, UAS | Comments Off on Huneed Technologies Signs MOU to Supply Flat Panel Array to GA-ASI

GA-ASI Advances Aerial Recovery for SUAS and ALE

Wednesday, October 18th, 2023

SAN DIEGO – 10 October 2023 – General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) recently advanced its Aerial Recovery System for Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems/Air-Launched Effects (SUAS/ALE) by deploying and retracting a towline with a “smart end feature” from a GA-ASI MQ-20 Avenger® Unmanned Aircraft System in flight. The demonstration took place on Sept. 20, 2023, over Dugway Proving Ground, Utah.

During this demonstration, a hoist from Breeze-Eastern equipped with GA-ASI’s smart end feature was integrated into Avenger’s payload bay. While in flight, the towline was deployed away from Avenger to the optimal distance for aerial recovery. The smart end feature was able to wirelessly transmit its position back to Avenger, confirming its ability to transmit the data to a nearby SUAS/ALE for aerial recovery. The smart end feature’s “deployed” position correlated to GA-ASI’s multi-degree-of-freedom finite element catenary models, confirming its potential for SUAS/ALE aerial recovery.

“Integrating air-launched UAS from Group 5 unmanned aircraft is possible, in part, thanks to advances in relative navigation technology, complex towline analysis, and multi-aircraft control being pioneered by GA-ASI,” said Mike Atwood, Vice President of Advanced Programs at GA-ASI. “We are excited to see this technology enable long-range kill chains from today’s manned and unmanned systems supporting operations in highly contested environments.”

Beyond just captive carry back to base, the SUAS/ALE can be refueled, recharged, and/or rearmed and then redeployed. Redeployment can occur from the host aircraft, enabling SUAS/ALEs to conduct their own orbits from airborne launch and recovery positions. Aerial redeployment allows UAS like GA-ASI’s Avenger or MQ-9A Reaper to serve as mobile command centers for a network of SUAS/ALEs in a persistent, expansive grid for surveillance, electronic attack, enemy air defense suppression, communication pathways, or joint all-domain mobile command and control for days or weeks at a time.

Breeze-Eastern’s commercial-off-the-shelf helicopter rescue hoists, with performance capabilities that meet or exceed system requirements, provide a high Technology Readiness Level (TRL), and offer a low-risk solution to ensure SUAS/ALE aerial recovery. Throughout the hoist integration and flight testing, Breeze-Eastern provided technical and logistical support.

Ian Azeredo, Breeze-Eastern’s Chief Engineer, commented, “With this milestone demonstration, GA-ASI has once again awed the aerospace industry. The professionalism and surgical ingenuity shown in the integration phase by the Aerial Recovery team all but guarantee future program success.”

The novel aerial recovery concept utilizes a towline and smart end feature, which serves as a beacon and mechanical interface for aerial recovery. The SUAS/ALE calculates its precise position relative to the smart end feature for navigation into towline intercept, followed by a maneuver to capture the end feature. Once secure on the towline, the SUAS/ALE folds its wings and stops its engine to transition into a passively stable towed body. A podded hoist aboard the capital ship reels in the SUAS/ALE to a captive carriage state where the two platforms return to base together.

Posted in Press Release, UAS | Comments Off on GA-ASI Advances Aerial Recovery for SUAS and ALE