We’ve posted before on how the demand for drone countermeasures is growing. And now, more proof: Citadel Defense locked down a $4 million contract in June to an undisclosed government customer.
An increasing number of companies are offering solutions when it comes to detecting – and, in certain circumstances – disabling drones. Such systems have been deployed at many airports, prisons, sensitive facilities like nuclear power plants, and more. Portable systems were even seen when President Joe Biden was recently abroad.
And as sales of drones continue to grow, so too will demand for these systems.
Drone detection and mitigation
They’re two different things, of course. The first is simply identifying the approach or presence of a drone in a location of interest; the second involves interfering with its Command and Control link through the use of powerful, targeted radio frequencies (though the military has also tested systems that use lasers). We’ve even seen devices that shoot nets.
There are laws in place that prevent simply firing off random frequencies to jam devices, so that capability can be used only where it’s both warranted and permitted.
Regardless, demand for countermeasure systems is on the rise.
$4 million contract in June
That’s the key message in a news release from Citadel Defense, along with an explanation of why it’s seeing a growth in demand for drone countermeasure solutions.
Rapid proliferation of small, low-cost drones threatens personnel and critical assets, impacting the military’s ability to conduct successful operations. Unmanned systems have been used by terrorists to collect intelligence, bypass ground-based physical barriers, and carry out highly effective attacks. The undisclosed government customer has selected Citadel’s Titan as the preferred radio frequency sensor for both standalone and highly integrated layered defense solutions. The Titan systems will be utilized for pre-deployment training, mobile security, and fixed site protection.
It’s been a good year for Citadel Defense. We wrote about the company back in March, when it had secured a $5 million contract.
Sophisticated solution
The news release says that Citadel’s Titan drone countermeasure system is packed with Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. Once it detects a drone, it’s capable of swinging into action on its own – even in the absence of an operator monitoring the system. As the release states: “Citadel technology delivers smarter, faster, and better decisions while responsibly taking operators out of the loop, allowing them to focus on the core mission.”
The company’s CEO, Christopher Williams, says the system is smart, effective – and useful in multiple scenarios:
Citadel’s advanced algorithms, artificial intelligence, and autonomous capabilities serve as a force multiplier when protecting against unmanned system threats in resource-constrained environments… Artificial intelligence is highly effective in electronic attack missions. Getting the right data and recommendation to operators quickly enables the human-machine teaming that will be necessary to compete in future conflicts.
Citadel Defense is hiring…
With the increasing demand, it’s not surprising to hear that Citadel Defense is in a growth phase. The company states it is “aggressively hiring engineers, strategists, and customer success personnel to accelerate their mission to transform modern warfare and save lives.”
You can find out more about the company and its products here.
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