Sky Spy and Orqa have partnered to demonstrate a portable drone-based signals intelligence (SIGINT) system for the Estonian Defence Forces during the country’s largest annual military exercise.
Exercise Spring Storm, which involved more than 12,000 NATO personnel from over 20 nations, saw Sky Spy’s autonomous portable SIGINT system integrated with Orqa’s MRM2-10 platform and used in a simulated electromagnetic attack scenario with Estonia’s 131st Infantry Battalion. Sky Spy announced on June 29 that the system successfully identified hostile emitters in the exercise area and demonstrated how airborne RF sensing can extend collection range and help units detect emitters beyond the reach of ground-based RF sensors.
The exercise was shaped by lessons from the war in Ukraine, where the ability to identify ground-based emitters such as control stations of adversary drones and jammers has become critical. Sky Spy describes this as identifying the archer before the arrow is fired.
The testing was hosted by the Estonian Defence Forces’ Force Transformation Command and involved the use of Sky Spy and Orqa’s drone-based portable SIGINT system in a realistic training environment with Estonian personnel. The activity was designed to identify operational solutions that meet the needs of the Estonian Defence Forces. Sky Spy said it is now rapidly integrating with drone manufacturers through its modular and drone-agnostic architecture.
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Image: Sky Spy
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