Israeli counter-drone company to provide system to FBI and US military

D-Fend Solutions, a Ra’anana-based counter-drone solution provider, has been selected by the United States Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) to provide the EnforceAir c-UAS (counter unmanned aerial system) as the core radio-frequency system to be integrated into a counter-drone system.

EnforceAir c-UAS is an advanced autonomous system that automatically and passively detects, locates and identifies rogue drones as well as mitigates risk by taking control over them and landing them safely at a predefined safe zone, applying a non-jamming and non-kinetic technology that does not require line-of-sight, making it ideal for all complex environments, whether urban or rural.

The company has been working for the past two years with the US Assistant Secretary of Defense Special Operations/Low-Intensity Conflict (ASD SO/LIC) Combating Terrorism Technical Support Office (CTTSO) to co-develop D-Fend’s EnforceAir advanced C-sUAS (counter small unmanned aerial system) capabilities.

Over the course of 2019, EnforceAir was successfully deployed by more than 20 US Department of Defense (DOD), Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Department of Justice (DOJ) units and agencies against the growing threat of hostile commercial drones. Some of the agencies currently operating D-Fend’s EnforceAir are the US Special Operations Forces, US Army, FBI, US Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) and US Marshal Service.

“EnforceAir has demonstrated top C-sUAS performance due to D-FEND’s continuous upgrades and spiral development based on direct feedback from small tactical team operators deployed OCONUS [Outside Continental United States] and CONUS [the 48 contiguous states and the District of Columbia],” ASD SOLIC CTTSO Tactical Ops program manager Michael J. Trexler said in a statement. “D-Fend increasingly plays a key role in our ongoing efforts to help keep our soldiers and country safe.”

According to the company, the DIU supported a number of DOD customers in evaluating component technology during Black Dart 2019 – the largest DOD live-fly, live-fire counter C-sUAS technology demonstration focused on rapid development and implementation of C-UAS technology from readily-available commercial and governmental products.

EnforceAir was selected from a field of 16 companies as “a best-in-its-class RF system for follow-up integration and operational assessment.” DIU further tested EnforceAir’s ability to integrate into a “system of systems” at a government test facility during a Counter Drone event in November.

Counter Drone test and evaluation events are designed to comprehensively assess C-sUAS technologies, the company said in a statement, adding that the tests and evaluations allow the DOD to fully understand the complexity of designing, developing and fielding integrated system of systems for the problems posed by C-sUAS.

“Being selected as the best RF solution by the DOD is a remarkable achievement for D-Fend,” D-Fend chairman and CEO Zohar Halachmi said. “We are proud to be a unique and essential part of a mission-critical solution that protects US assets, troops and citizens.”

“D-Fend’s EnforceAir continues to demonstrate outstanding capabilities, surpassing all other c-UAS solutions,” said Greg Gudger, president and CEO of ELTA North America, the exclusive marketer of D-Fend Solutions in the US. “We are honored to officially represent D-Fend in the US and support the DOD’s efforts.”

Originally published in The Jerusalem Post