The Canadian Department of National Defence has announced the participants selected for the next iteration of the government’s counter-UAS Sandbox, which will take place in Suffield, Alberta, in May and June this year.
Seeking to answer the question “How might we detect and/or defeat micro- and mini-UAS with systems that can be integrated into the broader military command and control system?,” the opportunities for selected innovators include:
- Up to five days of free use of a fully equipped counter-UAS test range, including targets;
- On-site one-on-one continual interaction with Canadian military and police officials and the US government Irregular Warfare Technical Support Directorate, end-users and science experts;
- Iterative testing and demonstration to improve technology;
- Feedback to customise and adjust test plans on-the-fly;
- Financial prizes for selected Sandbox game-changers;
- Potential post-Sandbox developmental work and funding for selected participants.
Participating companies need to bring advanced prototypes, capable of detecting and defeating micro- and mini-UAS, and their ‘A game’ to beat the host’s Red Team drones.
Selected participants for this round include:
- AIM Defence (Australia) – Fractl:1 tactical C-UAS system
- Boeing (USA) – M CLWS (Mobile Compact Laser Weapon System)
- EOS Defence Systems (Australia) – Titanis C-UAS system
- Fortem Technologies/Arcfield Canada (USA/Canada) – SkyDome C-UAS system
- Infiniti Electro Optics (Canada) – Vega ultra-long range multi-sensor PTZ camera system
- Leonardo Canada (Canada) – Falcon Shield C-UAS system
- LiveLink Aerospace (UK) – AERONETICS (Agile Electronic Reconnaissance & Operational Network for Enhanced Tactical Intelligence & Countermeasures) system
- Nominal Controls (Canada) – tactical close-range C-UAS system
- Prandtl Dynamics (University of Toronto) (Canada) – MUDD (Meteorological Ultrasonic Drone Destruction) system
- Sentrycs (USA/Israel) – Sentrycs C-UAS solution
- Sentry View Systems (USA) – SR interceptor missile and Sentry fusion C2
- SCI Technology (USA) – AeroGuard
- Skycope Technologies (Canada) – a comprehensive range of C-UAS solutions
- Teledyne FLIR (Canada) – Cerberus XL
- Twenty20 Insight (Israel) – Smash Hopper lightweight C-UAS system
For more information: Counter Uncrewed Aerial Systems Sandbox 2024 – Canada.ca
(Image: Among the candidate systems being tested during the programme is the AeroGuard C-UAS platform from SCI. Credit: SCI Technology, Inc.)
