Swarmer Inc., a drone autonomy software company which has supported more than 100,000 real-world combat missions in Ukraine since April 2024, announced a collaboration with three other battle-proven companies to provide an end-to-end solution to intercept unmanned threats at a fraction of the cost of surface-to-air missiles currently being used for site defence.
Through memorandums of understanding, Swarmer will lead the integration of detection, counter-drone and targeting systems provided by X-Drone, Norda Dynamics and Kara Dag Technologies into its advanced collaborative autonomy platform. These partnerships will aim to create a turnkey service to defend against Group 1-3 unmanned aerial vehicles and unmanned surface vessels up to eight meters in length.
“Interception is a complex process that requires detection, coordination, terminal guidance and kinetic engagement,”
said Erik Prince, Non-Executive Chairman of Swarmer.
“An end-to-end interception stack requires multiple products integrated with a single software platform. I believe that site defense can one day be offered as a service with a standardized, replicable, container-sized product kit that can be transported to any location and deployed in 24 hours or less.”
In March, Swarmer became the first defence technology company from Ukraine’s defence ecosystem to complete an initial public offering on the Nasdaq stock exchange. Swarmer’s primary mission areas include autonomous swarm coordination, multi-domain unmanned systems integration, AI-powered collaborative autonomy and command and control software for distributed drone operations.
“We are seeing an urgent demand for rapid interceptor solutions across the globe,”
said Alex Fink, President and U.S. CEO of Swarmer.
“Swarmer’s software platform is hardware-agnostic and designed to make multiple systems interoperable. It enables a shift from fixed one-to-one targeting to large, coordinated swarms that can engage a swarm of incoming threats and even re-assign targets in midair.”
X-Drone is a Ukrainian company focused on next-generation AI drone technologies. Its product line includes multiple types of drones and drone-based interceptors, and it has delivered more than 70,000 unmanned systems to the front lines.
“We believe that unpiloted interceptors are the future,” said an X-Drone spokesperson. “Our interceptor platform has demonstrated a proven ability to take down Shahed-type drones for 1/400th the cost of a Patriot missile.”
Norda Dynamics is a Ukrainian provider of terminal guidance and navigation software. Its Underdog system has been deployed on more than 60,000 attritable drones used by Ukraine’s armed forces.
“We have a proven track record of hitting moving vehicles in a wide variety of weather and visibility conditions,” said Nazar Bigun, Norda Dynamics’ CEO. “Maritime threats and slower-moving Group 1 aerial threats are next in line. Our software transforms any fast-moving FPV-type drone into an autonomous interceptor for UGVs, USVs and slower-moving Group 1 UAS.”
Kara Dag Technologies is a Ukrainian provider of portable RF detectors, acoustic detectors and mesh triangulation software. It has deployed more than 3,000 detector units to the Ukrainian military.
“Radar systems are large, expensive and serve as easy targets for the enemy,” said a Kara Dag spokesperson. “Our approach distributes the detection process across dozens of small nodes, achieving the same accuracy as an expensive radar system without a single point of failure.”
Together, the companies aim to create an integrated end-to-end system that can intercept aerial, marine and ground-based threats without the need for a human pilot.
Source: Swarmer