General Dynamics [GD] on Thursday said its Mission Systems segment has invested in drone security company Dedrone and the two companies have entered into a strategic partnership under which GD Mission Systems will be a value-added reseller of Dedrone’s systems and solutions, bringing the company’s solutions to a broader customer base.
Terms of the investment were not disclosed but a spokesman for GD Mission Systems said it is a “significant stake” and Dedrone said that its newest partner “will be one of the top investors at Dedrone.” In addition, Chris Brady, president of GDMS, has joined Dedrone’s board of advisers.
Drone security systems and solutions that can detect, track, classify, locate and defeat threats from small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) are in increasing demand by military, federal civilian and commercial customers. Small drones that can be purchased inexpensively and commercially off-the-shelf have been, and are being, used to conduct surveillance, smuggle contraband, disrupt airport operations, and drop ordnance.
Brady joins former Army acquisition chief Heidi Shyu, and John Chambers, the former CEO of
Cisco System [CSCO] and founder of the venture firm JC2 Ventures, on Dedrone’s board of advisers to help steer the company’s growth in the federal market, the Dedrone spokeswoman said. JC2 Ventures is also an investor in Dedrone.
“The intrusion of private and restricted airspace by unmanned aerial systems is one of the fastest growing threats facing our customers, and Dedrone’s counter UAS technology platform is the market-leading solution to defeat those threats,” Brady said in a statement.
GD said it will “exclusively supply” Dedrone’s technology to its global defense, civil government, intelligence and critical infrastructure customers.
As for the value-add, GD Mission systems brings its “extensive experience in overall platform and system-of-systems integration and our well-established customer relationships across DoD,” GD Mission Systems spokesman Matthew Billingsley told Defense Daily. “Additionally, General Dynamics Mission Systems provides value in the areas of logistics and field support and post-delivery system sustainment.”
Dedrone’s drone security product suite includes radio frequency sensors to detect and locate drones, pan-tilt-zoom cameras that also aid in drone detection, the DroneTracker command and control platform for sensor integration that also connects to mitigation technology like the company’s lightweight DroneDefender system that looks like a rifle and uses direct energy to immediately disrupt a potential drone threat. The company can also integrate third party radars into its solutions.
In response to a query by Defense Daily, Aaditya Devarakonda, Dedrone’s CEO, said that his company “will apply the investment from GDMS into R&D to accelerate building next generation autonomous software-led solutions for the federal customers to bring AI/ML (artificial intelligence/machine learning) to bear within the counter-UAS space. Our partnership helps us reach a much broader global customer base and provide GDMS customers with essential airspace security technology. As more drones enter the airspace, the demand for complete airspace security is increasing.”
Dedrone is headquartered in San Francisco and has an office in Northern Virginia to focus on the federal market. The company says it has hundreds of customers, including the U.S. military, allied and coalition forces, correctional facilities, airports, utilities, corporations, and other public and private organizations. The U.S. Air Force also has a license with Dedrone to use the company’s technology to protect its ICBM force.