AIM Defence Wins Drone Laser Contract For Drone Swarm Killer.
AIM Defence Wins Drone Laser Contract – Melbourne-based AIM Defence has won a $A5.4 million contract to provide a drone swarm killing solution for the Royal Australian Air Force.
The Fractl:2 laser is a prototype directed energy weapon capable of burning through steel and can take out drones travelling at speeds of 100km/hour at a range of kilometres while being controlled remotely, according to AIM Defence.
AIM’s Fractl:2 system can shoot down 50 drones on a single charge or can be plugged in for continuous operation. According to AIM, Fractl’s laser beam can hit a drone moving at 100 kilometres an hour a kilometre away with a beam the size of a 10-cent piece.
Fractl is capable of disabling A-IED threats rapidly and at a safe distance. Using advanced targeting solutions Fractl can surgically strike specific targets on the drone, enabling operators to cut wires, engage explosives, or destroy the drone.
Being able to target a drone’s rotor, wiring, camera or other key operating area means the device can be retrieved from the field for forensic analysis to enhance operational awareness. Fractl is highly deployable, offering battery and AC power options while the entire field ready unit weighs less than 50 kilograms.
According to AIM, Fractl is able to safely deter and defeat, drones and drone swarms, providing a significant base defence capability. The system can be scaled as a single unit (vertically) or across collaborative units (horizontally) to address operational requirements as needed.
AIM Defence Wins Drone Laser Contract For Drone Swarm Killer.
The system uses lasers with advanced AI engagement modelling and governor algorithms to safely engage incoming threats. The use of high-quality optical system and precise tracking means Fractl is an order of magnitude smaller than other directed energy solutions.
Meanwhile, Fractl’s advanced operating system is easily integrated into existing systems to effectively reduce operator load and enhance engagement response time.
Fractl uses eye safe laser technology and advanced optics, making it the perfect option for protecting critical assets and infrastructure, providing force escalation pathways from non-destructive warnings through to total drone defeat.
AIM Defence co-founder Jessica Glenn said that countering drones and other autonomous weapons systems is now “one of the most critically needed capabilities for militaries worldwide”.
“For the past 4 years AIM Defence has been working with Australia’s defence innovation ecosystem to build a cost-effective, high-precision and deployable directed energy system,” Glenn said. “Fractl:2 is the culmination of that effort,” Glenn said.
AIM Defence co-founder Dr Jae Daniel said that the team had successfully demonstrated “over 200 drone defeats both indoors and outdoors over the last 2 years”.
Dr Daniel said that with safety improvements made to the Fractl system after each test, the one-micron Fractl:1 variant is “orders of magnitude safer than other directed energy systems”, while Fractl:2 is “the safest and most deployable high power laser system in the world, by quite a margin”.
You can learn more about AIM Defence drone lasers here or read more SEN news here.
“AIM Defence Wins Drone Laser Contract For Drone Swarm Killer.”
