The DroneGun Mk4 can disrupt RF signals between a drone and its operator. Photo: DroneShield.
Australian company DroneShield has announced it will expand its Sydney-based manufacturing and research and development (R&D) facilities after recent big sales of its world-leading counter-drone technologies.
The announcement will see the company expand its production into a new 3000 sqm facility in Alexandria, while refocusing its existing 2500 sqm facilities in Pyrmont to focus on R&D.
The Alexandria facility will include advanced in-house production, testing and warehousing capabilities. It is expected to be open by December this year, and this will provide an opportunity to expand the company’s production capacity to $2.6 billion per year by the end of 2026.
DroneShield specialises in handheld and vehicle-mounted counter-unmanned aerial systems (C-UAS) – or anti-drone systems – designed to protect deployed forces or major events from an attack by small UAS such as those that have proliferated in Ukraine and other recent conflicts.
Its products range from small handheld threat-detection devices, to handgun-like devices that neutralise drone threats by disrupting radio frequencies between the drone and its operator, larger rifle-like drone guns which have longer range than the handgun style, to vehicle-mounted or fixed wide area systems that can detect and disrupt drones in a 360-degree arc around the antenna.
Most recently, some of its systems were seen deployed around the NATO Leaders summit in The Hague in the Netherlands.
The expansion comes after DroneShield recently announcing it received a $61.6 million contract in June – the biggest single order in its history – from a European organisation, followed by a $9.7 million contract from a Latin American organisation, and an $11.7 million contract from a Five Eyes customer.
The company says that, in line with a broader increase in military spending across Europe, it plans to establish a European Centre of Excellence including manufacturing and production, to support customer requirements there.
The DroneSentry-X Mk 2 can be vehicle or fixed-base mounted for wider area coverage. Photo: DroneShield.
DroneShield CEO Oleg Vornik said the expansion was in response to rising threats and multiple wars taking place across the globe, and that Australia’s allies were increasing investment in modern defence capabilities.
“We are stepping up to meet this demand by investing in state-of-the-art facilities here and abroad, and in sovereign Australian skills development to provide the most modern and effective counter-drone capabilities in the world,” he said.
“Our new facility in Alexandria will epitomise the value Australian engineering can bring to a changing geopolitical landscape.”
The announcement and the recent contract signings have seen DroneShield’s shares rise to $3.09 on Tuesday morning (15 July), an increase of 11 per cent overnight, and a nearly 300 per cent increase since the start of the year.
