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Defense contracts spur growth of counter drone company

March 25, 2020  - By
Titan C-UAS systems are deployed globally, protecting combat forces, civilians, and critical infrastructure. (Photo: Citadel Defense)

Titan C-UAS systems are deployed globally, protecting combat forces, civilians, and critical infrastructure. (Photo: Citadel Defense)

U.S. military, government and international customers opt for Citadel’s Titan for drone protection

Citadel Defense continues to experience rapid growth after being awarded several significant Defense and Homeland Security contracts for its C-UAS (counter unmanned aircraft systems) solutions.

Malicious drone activity, ranging from single-use hostile small unmanned aerial systems to drone swarms continue to threaten safety and national security. Over the past 18 months, Citadel has received orders for more than $17.5 million in products and services to support anti-drone initiatives around the world.

According to the company, the growth is a direct result of delivering reliable and effective force protection against individual drones and swarms for military, government and international customers over the past two years.

Citadel Defense’s automated counter drone solution uses artificial intelligence and machine learning as a reliable and scalable approach for addressing emerging threats.

To address the surge in global demand for Titan systems, Citadel has expanded its manufacturing capabilities in San Diego, California, to support production of up to 50 Titan systems a month. The company uses U.S. suppliers with more than 70% of components being sourced locally in Southern California to improve responsiveness when executing on urgent customer requests.

As new drones are released to the market, Titan systems receive new software to address the new threats. If Titan’s AI algorithms do not detect the threat right away, the company explained that it can deliver an end-to-end capability in 72 hours for most drones and less than 4 weeks for the most complex drone signals.

The use of AI, deepnets and adaptive countermeasures provide Titan with scalable force protection that can address the needs of the small unit, a large base or A mobile vehicle. The Titan system is being effectively integrated into layered solutions that combine radar, optics and kinetic countermeasures to help customers detect, identify, track, defeat and report on threat sUAS.

“Designing agility into our product development process from the beginning has allowed us to iterate in real-time alongside our customers and rapidly deploy new capabilities to improve mission outcomes,” said Christopher Williams, CEO of Citadel Defense.

As radiofrequency-based solutions become an important requirement for layered C-UAS solutions, Citadel has had its capabilities extensively evaluated by U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, SOCOM, and DHS Test & Evaluation teams. Titan is being used to protect high-value assets in urban, rural and maritime environments.

“Designing our system to meet unpredictable mission scenarios was made possible by direct feedback from operators experiencing drone incursions on the front lines,” explained Williams. “The threat environment is always evolving which requires a product development approach that can adapt and respond. A combination of human-centered design and AI-powered technology have helped Citadel differentiate ourselves from traditional defense contractors.”

About the Author: Tracy Cozzens

Senior Editor Tracy Cozzens joined GPS World magazine in 2006. She also is editor of GPS World’s newsletters and the sister website Geospatial Solutions. She has worked in government, for non-profits, and in corporate communications, editing a variety of publications for audiences ranging from federal government contractors to teachers.