The war in Ukraine put the drones at the forefront of modern war, creating an increase in the demand for counter-ground systems.
However, the solutions inherited to counter drones, such as ground defense systems and cyber war, are often delivered with a high price. For German startups Alpine eagleThese solutions fail: while drones of first -person view (FPV) of $ 500 now have the capacity to destroy three million dollars tanks, profitable responses are necessary.
“We use cheap and productible mass systems to establish symmetry against the digital advantage of cheap strike drones,” Dutch entrepreneur told Techcrunch. Alpine Eagle, based in Munich, which he co -founded in 2023, develops Sentinel, a mixture of software and material focused on profitability.
Unlike competing solutions on the ground, as Hover counter-Drone TourreSentinel is in the air, with modular sensors that are not hampered by the field and other obstacles, while avoiding becoming a stationary target.
Its mother vessel, which is sophisticated, but not supposed to be consumable, carries sugar interceptors who also help it to do more than detect threats or to blur them: they can either capture objects with nets, or completely destroy hostile drones.
Although potential applications exist in the application of laws and other sectors, the current geopolitical climate has led to the demand for this technology mainly in the army. The startup based in Munich obtained the German army as a launch client, in addition to other government agencies, and said they had obtained seven -digit income in the first 12 months of operation.
This helped him close a series of 10.25 million euros per series (around $ 10.96 million) led by British Deep Tech VC Firm Qi capital. The new financing will help the startup to extend its current team of automatic learning practitioners and aeronautical engineers, with new hires through products, engineering, commercial development and sales bringing its effort to 40.
The fact that the round is led by a British venture capital company is not a coincidence, because the startup will have the United Kingdom as a key market for its expansion. It is also because its market goes beyond the battlefields, with recent events Also highlighting the need to protect military bases and wider infrastructure.
However, there is no doubt that Alpine Eagle is part of the rise in European defense technology and Interest VC for the sectorEspecially in countries that feel most threatened.
In addition to returning investors General Catalyst and HCVC, its Table CAP now also includes funds from Estonia, Germany and Poland. “We were looking for a consortium of European investors who share both the emergency for construction [a] The ecosystem of European defense technology and which are in key countries, “said Boelens.
Despite this feeling of urgency, Boelens did not want to precipitate the entrance of Sentinel in Ukraine. “Our approach was to make sure that we first have a mature system to deliver them so that we do not waste their time with something that does not yet work. We have seen too many startups do this, and we have estimated that we should not go there once the system really does what it is supposed to do. »»
After having validated his system with the German army, he now tests his system in Ukraine and speaks to different brigades which helped to identify the use cases on the front line. One is Optical fiber drones; The use of cables instead of radiofrequency makes them more difficult to detect or blur.
Drones that are sheltered from RF interference can be a challenge even for Epius, the American startup of the Defense Tech co-founded by Joe Lonsdale who has just lifted A series of $ 250 millionand whose flagship Leonidas product radiates high-power microwaves.
On the other hand, the Alpine Eagle airborne system can integrate various sensors, including radar panels to detect low -flight flight drones that often escape ground systems.
The jamming goes, however, in both directions. This is one of the aspects in which Alpine Eagle uses AI, with the processing of data carried out on board the equipment itself for navigation purposes, as well as data collection in order to recycle its algorithms “to have more adaptive tactics according to what they have really perceived in reality”.
A tactical aspect of Sentinel is swarming, which is also an argument for the sale of Latest drone models of the German defense technology company Helsing. Applying it to counter drone strategies follows the same logic to limit costs and victims, with modern war which is increasingly unmanned.
“We have realized that all Western powers have the problem of not having enough soldiers, so we are trying to build a system where many drones can be used by a single operator using high automation levels and really promoting the soldier to a mission director rather than a pilot,” said Boelens.
