Swiss And US Firms Advance Drone Interceptor Capabilities

Swiss defense startup Destinus and California-based Shield AI have successfully completed a two-month autonomy integration and flight test campaign in Segovia, Spain, demonstrating the ability of Shield AI’s Hivemind software to autonomously adapt the flight paths of Destinus’ Hornet drone interceptor. The tests, which were financed through internal R&D funding, showed that Hivemind can operate on board an aircraft and function in GNSS-denied or communication-degraded environments. The partnership between Shield AI and Destinus may tempt European air forces looking for c-UAS solutions, and the companies are planning to expand the autonomy envelope in future testing phases. This development was first reported by Breaking Defense.