Aussie Defense Firm Helps Ukraine Zap Russian Drones

One of Australia's most highly valued defense firms is helping Ukrainian soldiers knock Russian drones off the battlefield, riding a surge in military spending by Western governments on technology designed to combat the weapon of the future, Oliver Hotham reported for Agence France-Presse (AFP).

Shares in the Sydney-based DroneShield soared more than 300% last year on hopes that it is uniquely positioned to profit from the wars of the 21st century. (Photo: DroneShield Facebook) 

From the trenches of Ukraine to the Red Sea and the cartel wars of South and Central America, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are a ubiquitous part of modern conflict — conducting surveillance, taking airports offline, dropping deadly payloads, and carrying out so-called “kamikaze” strikes.

Shares in the Sydney-based DroneShield — whose technology was originally conceived as a high-tech mosquito swatter — soared more than 300% last year on hopes that it is uniquely positioned to profit from the wars of the 21st century.

“Any future war will have all the normal things you expect, like tanks and artillery and missiles, but it will also have drones. And with that, you need counter-drone systems to address the threat,” CEO Oleg Vornik told AFP at the firm's headquarters in Sydney.

“You have to now assume the threat from the air is just as likely as the threat from the ground.”