Dedrone, based in San Francisco, CA, announced
on October 8 the purchase of DroneDefender from Battelle.
This purchase includes all assets and intellectual property associated with
DroneDefender. With this acquisition, Dedrone has launched a new
consultancy, Dedrone Defense, specializing in services and
solutions for U.S. federal agencies, including the Department of Defense, and
providing a proven, end-to-end solution that detects and classifies airspace
activity, protects assets from drone threats, and defeats adversary drones.
Dedrone’s counter-sUAS platform is a complete
technology solution which collects and aggregates drone activity data through
sensors, and that data is then automatically analyzed by DroneTracker software.
DroneTracker recognizes and classifies radio frequency(RF), WiFi, and non-WiFi
sUAS, transmits data to command and control centers,and can be programmed to
automatically trigger alerts and countermeasures when a sUAS threat is
confirmed. DroneDefender uses radio control frequency disruption and is a
lightweight, point-and-shoot system with a demonstrated range of 400 meters.
“When it comes to creating an airspace security
program, detection and defeat go hand-in-hand,” said Joerg Lamprecht, CEO and
co-founder of Dedrone.“DroneDefender is an exceptional technology which Dedrone
is proud to incorporate into our counter-sUAS ecosystem. In order to best serve
our customers in the Department of Defense and in the U.S. federal space,
Dedrone Defense is available to provide the essential tools to assess airspace
activity, protect civilians and critical assets, and eliminate unauthorized
sUAS-based threats.”
DroneDefender and all operations associated with
the technology will be led from the company’s Washington, D.C.-area office,
under the new entity,Dedrone Defense. Dedrone Defense provides federal
departments and agencies with the tools and solutions needed to protect against
all sUAS threats. All current customers of DroneDefender will have access to
acquire Dedrone’s drone detection software and hardware solution to complete
their counter-sUAS programs.
“Today’s announcement of this sale is a success
story for both Battelle and Dedrone,” said Battelle President and CEO Lou Von
Thaer. “The Drone Defender was an innovation developed by our researchers to
meet an urgent need. We developed it and delivered it to our customers rapidly,
where it was deployed in the field proving very effective in countering nefarious
drone activity. We are proud to see it being integrated into Dedrone’s
systems.”
Part of Battelle’s mission is to develop technology
and to ensure that it is commercialized and deployed as quickly as possible to
help society.
Battelle and Dedrone began working together in August 2017 to develop a collaborative solution to provide airspace security for militaries and critical infrastructure. In June 2018, Dedrone successfully demonstrated the capabilities of DroneTracker and DroneDefender at ThunderDrone, a U.S. Special Operations Command and SOFWERX rapid prototyping event, ranking first place out of 45 other counter-sUAS companies. DroneDefender units are currently in use by the U.S. Departments of Defense and Department of Homeland Security and other federal entities and will continue to be manufactured in the United States by Dedrone.
Source: Dedrone
By Loren Blinde
October 8, 2019
