DANISH drone detection and mitigation specialist MyDefence has specialised in counter-unmanned aircraft system (C-UAS) solutions since 2013. Co-founder and CEO Dan D.S Hermansen speaks to Asian Defence Journal about the firm.
ADJ: Can you briefly introduce MyDefence and its objectives?
DH: MyDefence was founded in 2013, 13 years ago with myself being one of the founders. Back then, we started the company with the purpose of saving lives, we wanted to make a product that could protect soldiers against improvised explosive devices (IED), commonly roadside bombs at the time. After that, we secured a project with the Danish Ministry of Defence to develop a reactive jamming system prototype. That was essentially a sensor that would listen in to all communication that was going on, then reactively jam it very, very quickly. Only a few microseconds is the time one has to really be effective on the jamming.
After several demonstrations, we quickly figured out that we could use it for any wireless communication at a point in time where drones had been coming onto the market; that would have been around 2014. Drones such as those from DJI and other companies started coming onto the market. Suddenly, they began to pose another problem that was different from roadside bombs.
For example, if the police are conducting VIP protection or even general crowd safety or crowd control when a drone suddenly flies over that area, then it’s for the protection of public safety to make sure that nothing happens to the crowd or VIP. And the authorities did not really have control of the situation at the time. That led to them asking us whether or not they could utilise our technology for these situations. From there, those were some of the first customers we had, being law enforcement and the prison services because drugs, weapons and more were being smuggled into prisons via drones.
Furthermore, special operations units that were engaged in places throughout the Middle East such as Afghanistan were also among them. Our first systems were body-worn, since the beginning we have been really focused on reducing size, weight and power so it could always be body-worn, from there it could evolve from being mounted on vehicles and even installed somewhere permanently. They would be small, compact, lightweight and low-powered.
At that time, many asked why there was a need to be afraid of drones, saying they were just toys but we did have customers that had a problem with them. As far as we could see, they were the new roadside bomb, the new IED was now a drone flying with a homemade bomb instead of digging it down into the dirt and then having a vehicle come up before detonating it.
MyDefence’s objective is really to save lives, and we do that by countering malicious use of drones, which can be drones conducting surveillance on soldiers or even drones that can execute direct attack drones on personnel, VIPs or police forces. That’s really what we do, focusing on drones using electronic warfare, and solutions where we combine multiple layers into a multilayer system. So that would be RF sensors and jammers combined with radars, cameras, acoustic sensors, fusing all data in our command and control system, and then you can really see everything on one screen, so you have a fuller view.
ADJ: Can you also explain MyDefence’s presence in Asia-Pacific and plans on expansion in Singapore?
DH: Ninety percent of our customer base is about 90% defence related; that is also where the budgets and spendings are at the moment. But we are seeing more and more movement, on critical infrastructure with intelligence services and VIP protection. In these last few years, we have seen more opportunities in Asia-Pacific. We have travelled often to this part of the world from Denmark to support our customers, to the point where we have now found ourselves in a position where we would like to have local presence here in the region, in order to better support customers and quicker response.
We have had very good customers in Singapore as well and three other countries in the region that we are not at liberty to discuss at this time. Aside from that, we recently announced a new contract with the Australian Defence Forces (ADF). Together with our partner there, we secured a deal for equipment to Australia. Australia will also be served from here, but we will also invest more into Australia going forward, it will probably be coordinated from Singapore, but we will have a local presence in Australia.
MyDefence opened up its Singapore office to serve our customers throughout the region. We’ve seen lots of new opportunities come up in Asia over the past few years. We have already secured some good customers, already delivering products to said customers. Our Singapore office will ensure that we continue to serve our customers in their own time zone, which is the most important. If our customers need support, they would not have to accommodate our timing in Denmark and just contact the office here in Singapore.
We looked at many countries, and tried to assess our best options; that brought us back to Singapore because business-wise, it resembled Denmark and the northern part of Europe where conducting business is very rule-based with little to no language barriers. In Denmark, we are very open, honest and direct in a business conversation, and we find it similar in Singapore. Not to mention Singapore’s small size which corresponds with Denmark and our six million population. In Singapore, it is easy for us to be heard and open doors with the Singaporean government and authorities very open to inviting us in for discussions with various stakeholders. We have seen that same support from day one and it proves that it’s really the right place for us to be.
We have three categories comprising wearable products, vehicle and perimeter solutions. For the wearables, we have the Wingman and the Pitbull, the Wingman is an RF detector which will pick up drone activity while the Pitbull is a specialised jammer that can be connected to the ATAK command control system data can be shared from one soldier to another, and also back to the headquarters. If there is drone activity, it can give you an alert and you’ll share that back to the units.
Next, our vehicle systems, which have been used in armoured vehicles and small patrol vehicles as well as for maritime use. It can be used on different kinds of vessels, anything from a patrol boat to a frigate. Our systems would also give operators information on locations of the drone or operators as well as the ability to push the drone away via jamming. Just like the soldier-worn system, but the vehicle system is a bit more precise because you have more sensors. It is capable of providing an accuracy down to about five degrees to where the drone is coming from or where the pilot is. And if there are multiple vehicles with the system installed, you will be able to intersect it on a map to determine the drone’s position.
And then our perimeter solutions for critical infrastructure including airports, energy plants and others. Surrounding these areas would typically be even more layers in the system. For example, the Wolfpack RF sensor and the Dobermann jammer, followed by a number of radars, a camera and more. Those are what usually entails a fixed perimeter fixture. But looking at the numbers, around two-thirds of our equipment goes into the wearables with the balance going into our vehicles and perimeter solutions. We do soft kill of the drones through the preferred method of jamming, and then we also have systems where we are integrated together with hard kill solutions. So, we will provide the early warning capability. So, for our vehicle solution for example, we would be able to give a warning if the drone is like five kilometres away.
ADJ: What sets MyDefence apart from others in the industry?
DH: Firstly, we’ve been in the business for quite some time. As one of the founders of counter-unmanned aerial system (UAS) systems, that means that we have amassed vital experience throughout the years with drones and applied it to our products for the past 13 years. This is demonstrated by our clientele all across the globe, with some of our largest customers including the US Army which has selected our body-worn system as their system of choice. Additionally, we have also deployed more than 2,000 Wingman sensors in the Ukraine. Overall, I believe just being battle-proven and having a technology that has proven itself to save lives many times is what truly sets us apart.
On the technical side, it’s also the size, weight and power, because MyDefence is really among the few that have a wearable solution, where you can both detect and jam on a soldier while still being able to carry their weapon for instance. There are not many others doing that and that is another example of what makes us different. Based on feedback from our customers, that combination is really important for them.
Of course, we are constantly innovating to try and remain ahead of drone threats at all times. We have a lot of work going on in the Ukraine to make sure that we stay ahead of the curve. Then, it becomes technical again, what frequencies are being used, is there something new in the battlefield that we should adapt to on the technical side? So, really getting that speed of innovation up and making sure that we stay ahead of the threats is another feature that I believe sets us apart from others in the industry.
ADJ: Can you tell us more on lessons the recent conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East have taught MyDefence?
DH: One key point is really the speed of innovation and how fast we have to adapt to what goes on on the frontlines. We have learned a lot on that side, but also how drones, especially do-it-yourself drones which are typically the threat here can easily get out into other countries. You can observe other conflicts in the world where they basically import the ideas from the battlefields of Ukraine and in Iran. Within just weeks and months, they have also been adapted beyond the battlefield. For instance, there has also been evidence of people who have learned in the Ukrainian International Legion how to make drones, how to attack using them who then return to their respective countries and teaching those tactics to crime organisations and others. Drug cartels for example. That is how the tactics are being imported into other countries and the same happens on the Russian side. This is really breeding innovation on how to conduct drone warfare.
Another part is that when we started in Ukraine in 2019, they had a problem with drones, but it was rather small with around 10% of casualties caused by drone attacks. Today, more than 90% of casualties are now attributed to drone attacks, Shahed drones, first-person-view (FPV) and others. So that is really a drastic change over the last five years. That is definitely also a lesson for us. Now drones not only fly, they are on the ground too. Unmanned ground vehicles (UGV) are now beginning to win the fight in Ukraine, taking back territory back from the Russians by using more drones than people.
Interestingly enough, we started rather early over in the Middle East with one of our first engagements being related. At that time, it was the fight against ISIS in Syria and Iraq, and Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan. where the first products were used, and that is already years ago. Since then, they have moved on with new threats and new scenarios in the Middle East. However I cannot really comment on the current conflict that is going on. The first real attacks we saw from ISIS was before the full-scale conflict in Ukraine. The first drones we saw used for direct attacks was around 2016.
What we have also seen is also a big shift from as I said earlier, it was typically for VIP protection, commonly from the intelligence services, special forces that were out on mission and prison services that were our main customers. But in the past five years, it also showed us that everybody needs protection, the army needs protection, vehicles, critical sites and others. So the industry suddenly moved from being a niche market for many years to being just generic and broad. If you look at the total available market, in business terms, has grown from the small, to being massive and continuing to grow due to increased investment in defence budgets and more into critical infrastructure protection. With the conflict in the Middle East, critical sites with oil or energy plants and similar sites are open and vulnerable because they are being attacked. Such attacks are also open and can be seen on TV broadcasts sometimes, that is something that has been occurring in recent years.
