MELBOURNE, Australia, Aug. 7, 2024
/CNW/ -- AIM Defence's Fractl:1 Tactical Directed Energy Laser
has taken out first place at the international Counter Drone
Sandbox in Canada netting a
$1 million dollar prize.
Taking out the win cements AIM's position at the forefront of
low cost and compact Tactical Counter-Drone Systems and comes just
months after the Australian Government's $5.4m announcement to purchase a Fractl counter
drone system for internal test and evaluation.
The Sandbox, conducted as part of the Canadian Armed Forces'
Innovation for Defence Excellence and Security (IDEaS)' program, is
designed to competitively evaluate state of the art counter drone
technology across the globe. The program has run biannually for the
last six years and is internationally regarded as an independent
assessment of counter drone capabilities for both NATO and Five
Eyes allies.
Reflecting the proliferation and growing concern of weaponised
drones the 2024 Sandbox focused on the effective detection and
defeat of quadcopter, FPV and fixed wing targets. AIM Defence was
one of fifteen companies selected to show off their technology at
the event with other participants including industry giants from
Canada, the USA and the UK.
"We're extremely thankful to the Canadian Government for giving
us this opportunity and to their red team who really put our system
to the test with a range of drones that we'd never seen before from
FPVs to fixed wings across a range of scenarios. It was a
challenging event and we're proud to have come out on top," said
AIM co-founder Ms Jessica Glenn.
The Fractl system uses in-house developed state-of-the-art
artificial intelligence (AI) tracking and ultra-compact laser
technology and has integrated with US Space Force to safely engage
above the horizon. During the event Fractl it was able to track and
neutralize drones at up to 1.5 kilometres away, and successfully
shot down over 30 targets during the exercise.
The Canadian evaluation team judged that the AIM Fractl system
best met sandbox prize criteria for demonstrated performance,
continuous improvement, and significant follow-on interest from the
Department of National Defence and Canadian Armed Forces in AIM's
Fractl CUAS approach.
"While we are immensely proud of our achievements to date, we're
just getting started. We've seen a significant uptick in demand for
effective counter drone technologies and plan to reinvest the
winnings back into AIM so we can continue to develop best in class
technology and protect our allies" said AIM co-founder Dr
Jae Daniel.
For more information visit AIM Defence and the Canadian
Innovation for Defence Excellence and Security (IDEaS) Sandbox web
page.
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SOURCE AIM Defence