It’s a bird! It’s a plane! No, it’s a drone swarm and it is declaring war.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine made one thing clear: drones are now an integral part of the military arsenal. Low-cost, lightweight and powerful, drones can transform the way countries fight, thus increasing the need for defence drones that can counter-attack, such as those manufactured by counter-drone tech production company DroneShield (ASX: DRO).
DroneShield has been awarded a record $11 million order for a Government agency client. The order includes several different types of DroneShield counterdrone/C-UAS equipment. A substantial part of the order is expected to be delivered shortly, with the remainder in late March 2023.
The $11 million corresponds to the combined value of both phases of the project. Payment for each batch is expected to be received within a month of each delivery. The proceeds are expected to be received across March and June 2023 quarters.
DroneShield CEO, Oleg Vornik, shared, “From the start of the Company [seven] years ago, DroneShield has demonstrated a consistent progression, first by building and then refining its product suite along with global distributor network, then moving to customer demos, followed by initial smaller sales, repeat $1m+ sales, and now moving into $10m+ sales territory.”
Vornik adds that in the last two years, the Company has made a significant investment in scaling its operations. In doing so, he says, “We continue to meet delivery expectations of our customers as we rapidly scale up.”
DroneShield provides artificial intelligence-based tech to protect against advanced threats, like drones and autonomous systems. It sells counter-drone (or counter-unmanned aircraft systems) and electronic warfare tech and off-the-shelf products designed to suit a variety of terrestrial, maritime or airborne platforms.
This year, it secured a slew of new Government contracts, pointing to the world’s preparation for potential drone warfare. DroneShield received a recommendation from the Joint Counter-small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Office (JCO)—a part of the US department of defence. On November 8, this department awarded DroneShield a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project with partner Quantum Research International. On November 10, the Company received a $1 million order for several of its DroneSentry-X® units for an international Government agency. It has also received its first US civilian airport deployment, a $2 million European contract and other Government orders.
It was also appointed to the Australian Department of Defence Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance and Electronic Warfare Standing Offer Panel.
Plus, last month, DroneShield received a $3.7 million investment from US defence tech company Epirus Inc, which develops software-defined directed energy systems. These enable counter-electronics effects and power management solutions to optimise efficiency in defence and commercial applications.
There is a nightmarish potential in drones, and countries are quickly recognising it. When the time comes, these drones will be sent to war, with only the best ones coming out alive.
Are drones setting up a new cold war before the ultimate face-off? If so, DroneShield might have to up its game and watch its back as partners with agencies worldwide.
Alinda is a Business Reporter for The Sentiment
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