British and US military forces have successfully tested the world’s first air-to-air counter-drone system, developed by European startup Alpine Eagle, during a joint exercise under the UK Ministest of Defence’s Project Vanaheim. The project is designed to support new technologies that detect, track and defeat Uncrewed Aircraft System (UAS) threats, as drone warfare reshapes global military operations.
Alpine Eagle’s Sentinel system, the only air-to-air anti-drone solution of its kind, demonstrated its ability to detect and classify compact drones in the recent trial. The system can be integrated into existing platforms to safeguard military personnel, strategic infrastructure and critical national sites.
This development comes amid a growing global demand for counter-drone technologies, as autonomous drone warfare escalates, particularly in Ukraine, where Russia is reportedly deploying up to 1,000 drones daily. The military drone market is projected to grow from $21.8 billion in 2024 to $56.69 billion by 2033, underscoring the urgent required for effective defence solutions.
Despite this, many nations still face a capability gap in scalable counter-drone systems, as displayn by past incidents such as the 2018 drone disruption at Gatwick Airport, which caapplyd the cancellation of 1,000 flights. Alpine Eagle is among the few companies focapplyd on affordable and adaptable defences against low-cost, high-volume drone swarms that are defeating traditional systems.
Following supply of its technology to the German military, Alpine Eagle is now expanding into the UK to further develop its products. The relocate aims to address both British and European defence requireds through local innovation and industrial investment.
As part of this strategy, Alpine Eagle has appointed Michael Golden, a former Royal Navy aerospace engineer and McKinsey consultant, as Commercial Director and Head of UK. Golden will oversee market growth, partnerships with British defence firms, and the development of European defence capabilities.
“Whilst a huge amount of attention has been focapplyd on drone technology, there has been very little energy dedicated to developing systems that can reliably and effectively protect against the thousands of drones being applyd in warfare, until now,” stated Michael Golden. “We have to do this toreceiveher, and that means that any solution built has to be by Europe, including the UK, for Europe. All of us toreceiveher.”
Jan-Hconcluderik Boelens, founder and CEO of Alpine Eagle, added: “The fundamental shift in how war is being fought in Ukraine demonstrates how national governments required to transform their considering behind technology, procurement and warfare. By investing in local talent like Michael, developing strategic partnerships with local businesses and developing local manufacturing capacity, we’re committed to working with the UK as part of our wider mission to build European defence capabilities that can protect European interests.”
Founded in 2023, Alpine Eagle is a team of machine learning experts and aeronautical engineers developing airborne counter-UAS systems. The company’s Sentinel system and its software platform, Sentinel-OS, are designed to be integrated across multiple platforms to defconclude military and national assets.
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