Sensofusion Makes a Play for “Game of Counter-drone” Crown

The catchphrase “Game of Drones” permeates the UAV media – FPV racing leagues, documentaries, and even bandied around the DRONELIFE offices.

But the phrase “Game of Counter-drone” may soon become the New Phrase on the Block as the industry takes flight within the UAV world and that means the major players are jockeying to self-crown themselves the king.

A recent report noted that the number of counter-drone products has risen from 10 on the market in 2015 to more than 230 produced by 155 manufacturers by 2018.

Finnish-based Sensofusion says it’s making a play for the anti-drone crown, stating the company has doubled manufacturing capacity to meet demand for its pioneer AIRFENCE solution.

The package automatically detects, locates, tracks and takes over rogue drones and now offers long-range jamming capabilities, improved directional geolocation and a more rugged hardware rig.

Last year, AIRFENCE participated at NASA UTM’s TCL2 campaign. The U.S. Marine Corps awarded a contract to Sensofusion, in partnership with the Defense Innovation Unit Experimental.

The company made headlines earlier in 2017 when the FAA announced a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement with Sensofusion, Gryphon Sensors and Liteye Systems to deploy drone-sensor prototypes at key American airports.

“Based on our current customers, we have strong reason to believe Sensofusion has the largest network of active counter-UAS sites across the globe.” Sensofusion Vice President Kaveh Mahdavi said in a press release. “This is particularly interesting because not only does it demonstrate healthy growth, but we’re learning a lot in the process.”

Mahdavi added that the company garnered a record high revenue metric for 2018 and is forecasting a five-fold growth in 2018.

The company expects to expand markets with urban patrol perimeters to curtail unwanted drones especially over crowded public events and VIP visits. Currently, Sensofusion deploys AIRFENCE at international airports, military bases, high-profile government buildings and oil and gas facilities.

“Our vision continues to follow the path of scalability from the perspective of implementing technology as it is our core belief that increasing the number of systems to the field increases awareness and response time,” Sensofusion Founder and CEO Tuomas Rasila said.

“Our latest AIRFENCE platform builds on advancements we’ve been making for the past few years and incorporates the lessons learned from key projects with the FAA, NASA, the U.S. Marine Corps, and the European Commission.”