Skapion unveils counter-swarm air defence system
A computer-generated image of Skapion's Arsenal launchers for Hadar C-UAS interceptors on an unmanned ground vehicle (Skapion)
Skapion, an Israeli defence technology startup, unveiled a new counter-unmanned aerial system (C-UAS) designed to defeat drone swarms during the Association of the United States Army (AUSA) annual conference in Washington, DC, from 12-14 October.
The system, which has not been publicly named, is designed “to detect, engage, and defeat large-scale, coordinated drone swarm attacks at an affordable cost”, the company claimed in a 13 October statement.
In July, the company revealed a “USD36 million seed funding round led by UP Partners and Khosla Ventures to accelerate the development and validation of its counter-swarm defence system”, the statement added.
Skapion
Skapion's C-UAS system is intended to keep up with “adversary speed of development” through advanced technologies and methodologies, artificial intelligence (AI), and advanced simulation, Ido Bar-On, co-founder and CEO for Skapion, told reporters on the sidelines of the AUSA conference.
He pointed to the evolution of the drone war in Ukraine, where Russia has shifted from piston-engine Geran UAS to jet-powered variants and multi-layered salvos with decoys and communication drones mixed in with strike platforms.
First-person view (FPV) drone interceptors are not fast enough to keep up with the jet-powered Gerans, Bar-On noted, emphasising that new defence systems are needed to address rapidly evolving threats.
Drone threat
Drones provide a low-cost, simple to operate standoff capability for nation-states and non-state armed groups, he said.
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