Draft:Drone Defence

Drone Defence Services Ltd is a UK technology company focusing on drone detection and drone mitigation solutions, as well as working on a number of development projects looking towards the future of airspace management. They are committed to enabling drone technology and demonstrating its potential, whilst supporting a sustainable future where drones change the way we view, interact with and move around our world.

The company is currently headquartered in Retford, Nottinghamshire.

History
Drone Defence was founded in 2017, by Richard Gill, a former British Army Officer.

The company's first large scale project was installed at Guernsey Prison in 2017. The SkyFence system was the first drone mitigation system of its kind to be installed in a British Isles prison. In 2018, the system was subjected to Home Office testing, where later on that year, important legislation was changed to allow for use of the system.

In 2020, an initial seed funding round closed and an investment of £500k was made by US Scientel Solutions.

Towards the end of 2020, Drone Defence was awarded their first Innovate UK grant at a value of £378,000.

In 2021, Drone Defence's AeroPing remote-ID module became the first in the UK to be approved by the FAA.

At the end of 2021, Drone Defence began working on a new project - AeroGuard. This idea was developed in response to the Sarah Everard police case. Drone Defence felt that drones could be used as a first response reaction to calls-for-help. Drone Defence CEO, Richard Gill, was featured on GB News, BBC Radio 4 Women's Hour and in multiple national newspapers.

In May 2022, Drone Defence were announced as a partner in Project AgiLe Integrated Airspace System (ALIAS), a UKRI Future Flight challenge, bringing together nine highly motivated technology companies to show a scalable and cohesive airspace system for the future.

September 2022 also saw the company awarded funding for a remote-ID network project, providing full coverage of 50 drone detection sensors to the nation of Singapore.

Awards
Over the years, Drone Defence have won a number of awards and recognised as industry leaders within their field including: