US Department of Defence greenlights Droneshield as a preferred partner in anti-drone tech; shares up 10%

Droneshield (ASX:DRO) shares are up 10% to 19c towards the end of lunchtime as the company reveals it has been recommended as a preferred supplier of counter-drone technology to the US Department of Defence (DoD). 

Following trial runs using Droneshield’s technology at a Yuma-based testing facility earlier this year, the US DoD is satisfied Droneshield’s technology is harmonious with its rigorous standards. 

Getting technical, Droneshield has today won recommendation from the DoD’s Joint Counter-small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Office (JCO), a body established in 2019 acting as the DoD’s peak entity handling counter drone activities. 

The move comes after Droneshield won a $1.8m contract with a US Defence supplier last month for the purchase of the company’s handheld drone deactivation device.

The DoD recommendation is especially noteworthy, given that it provides Droneshield a trusted status in the supply chains of the US military, for which Droneshield won similar approvals from Canberra back in September. 

Recommended to who? 

The JCO has formally recommended Droneshield following testing conducted alongside the Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), a private entity responsible for part of the DoD’s R&D activities by way of a partnership. 

SAIC is listed on the NYSE and Droneshield estimates its annual revenues to reflect some $12bn. 

“[Using Droneshield technology, SAIC] developed and demonstrated a robust architecture with layered sensors and effectors to cover long range to mobile to last-line-of-defense,” the JCO stated in its recommendation. 

Wide scope of customers 

Droneshield specialises in sensors which detect when a small drone is hovering nearby. For clarity, the type of drones the company is interested in are retail versions operated by remote control, and not the high altitude kind. 

Alongside military applications, Droneshield has also won contracts from airports this year, where low-flying drones threaten the safety of commercial jets, and have become an increasing point of concern for airport safety control towers in recent years. 

In August, a US civilian airport adopted Droneshield’s drone detection radar systems, and not long after, it also won a contract from an airport in the EU. 

Management pleased 

“We are pleased to complement the overall SAIC solution with key components for both extended-range detection and defeat,” Droneshield Matt McCrann said, not elaborating on the military lingo. 

It is likely the “defeat” side of things come from Droneshield’s drone deactivation technology, which it packages into its handheld ‘DroneGun MKIII,’ a handheld device which fires a radio frequency at small drones which turns them off and forces them to land. 

“We look forward to supporting this partnership and further expansion of critical counter-drone capabilities across the services,” McCrann added. 

The company notes it cannot affix a value to the recommendation by JCO, but expects it to result in material gains down the line. 

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