DroneShield shifts C-UAS development focus to software, AI

DroneOptID utilises AI and is updated on a quarterly basis. It focuses on sensors such as thermal and electro-optical cameras. (DroneShield)

The US government has awarded DroneShield a USD33 million order, the largest to date for the counter-unmanned aircraft system (C-UAS) and electronic warfare (EW) company.

DroneShield CEO Oleg Vornik told Janes that the company could not disclose the details of the new contract, although he said it is tied to drone detection and defeat technology. It followed a USD9.9 million order earlier in July from an unnamed ‘Five Eyes' customer.

The company has evolved significantly in recent years, Vornik said. It was until recently most known for its work in two broad areas. The first focus was on drone detection and defeat with products such as the DroneGun system; the DroneGun Mk4 was released earlier in 2023, providing a portable C-UAS system utilising radio frequency (RF) disruption to force the UAS to return to its starting point or land.

Second, the company has addressed EW more broadly, providing detection and classification abilities for various threats, such as enemy communications or radar.

While these remain key focuses, the company's approach has changed, Vornik said.

“If you asked me five years ago what kind of company DroneShield is, I would say we're a hardware business with a bit of software sprinkled on top,” he said. “Now we are fundamentally a software business, underpinned by a hardware platform.”