Liteye, Tribalco Seal Counter-Drone Deal with U.S. Military

Liteye, a major counter-drone company, is partnering with Tribalco, a “mission-critical” IT/telecommunications service provider, to deliver the Anti-UAV Defense System (AUDS) to U.S. military agencies.

Dubbed “the world’s first fully integrated detect-track-disrupt-defeat” drone defense system, AUDS took flight last year as a consortium that includes Liteye, Gryphon Sensors and Sensofusion through an FAA Cooperative Research and Development Agreement.

The military hopes the AUDS partnership can produce the same results as the FAA’s Pathfinder Initiative which is designed, the agency says, to address three areas of national drone integration – “visual line-of-sight operations in urban areas, extended visual line-of-sight operations in rural areas [and] beyond visual line-of-sight in rural/isolated areas.” The system will be deployed to detect, track, identify, and defeat threatening drones in military operations.

“As the legitimate use of unmanned vehicles becomes more prevalent in many industries, they become readily available for illicit use by our enemies,” said Liteye President Thomas Scott. “With the right technologies, we can provide coverage to our warfighters, while they conduct their mission of protecting against those who wish them harm.”

The companies recently concluded an 18-month evaluation by the Defense Department. “Through this process, AUDS consistently exceeded the mission requirements, simultaneously providing ground and air surveillance against possible threats,” a Liteye press release reports.

AUDS deploys state-of-the-art radar, precision thermal and daylight cameras, advanced video tracking, and multiple non-kinetic defeat capabilities to neutralize hostile or errant drones.

While Liteye provides the technology to power AUDS, Tribalco will serve as systems integrator and provide engineering, installation, operations and maintenance services.

“We have worked diligently to provide certified AUDS installers and trainers to meet the immediate mission requirements of U.S. Forces,” Tribalco vice president Zac Neumayr said. “As a global system integrator with extensive experience working with the U.S military, we understand the importance of enhancing perimeter protection to stay ahead of threats to life or property.”