Ukraine conflict: Dedrone cUAS sensors and jammers deployed to Ukraine

Dedrone displays the new version of the DedroneDefender jammer rifle at the Association of the United States Army's annual conference. (Alejandro Sanchez)

More than 200 Dedrone FieldKits, a simplified version of DedroneTactical counter-unmanned aerial system (cUAS), are deployed in Ukraine, an executive told Janes on 25 October.

The kits are a basic version of the DedroneTractical, which include a radio frequency (RF) sensor, a ruggedised laptop, a mast, two batteries, and the ability to connect to a satellite network “for continuous in-the-field operation”, Mary-Lou Smulders, Dedrone's CMO and head of government affairs, said in an interview.

During the week of 23 October “another pickup of FieldKits took place,” Smulders said. The acquisition of the systems was funded by the Ukraine Defense Fund and advised by the Ukrainian military, Smulders told Janes. Dedrone also sold “a handful” of DedroneDefender jammers to Ukraine. “Around 20 systems” are already deployed, Smulders added.

The capability is a precision jammer designed for expeditionary environments, which has a weight of 3.4 kg and a length of 560 mm. It can track and disable a UAS through an Android operating system, either working alone or linking with other Dedrone sensors to expand its target coverage. A new variant was released in the third quarter of 2023 and displayed at the Association of the United States Army (AUSA) annual conference held in October in Washington, DC.

It has been sold “to various US federal customers and other ministries of defence,” Smulders added.