A Tale of Two Techs: A Unique Partnership for Drone Defense Solutions

The advent of weaponized FPV drones in human combat has quickly proven to be a pivotal moment in the history of interpersonal violence. A recreational flying machine, available for a couple hundred bucks on Amazon, has—in less than five years—spawned a multi-billion-dollar international arms race that’s birthed both drone and counter-drone technology fields so new even the family dog has lived through its entire life cycle so far.

But as western powers and their respective industrial bases spend generational money on the issue, one thing has become painfully clear: defending a $500 system with a $5 million dollar system is a great way to win the battle while losing the war.

Two companies, unique in their own rights as individual entities, have recently partnered up to deliver a (relatively) low-cost, man-portable, tech-driven solution to area drone defense. We had the rare opportunity to speak directly with the CEOs of both companies to hear the story behind their partnership, and two unique technology sets that may not have crossed paths if not for the looming threat of proliferated drone warfare.

SMALL EYE, BIG VIEW 

During SOF Week 2026, we made contact with the team at Spotter Global – a company whose work was initially focused on detecting bullets, not drones. CEO Logan Harris explained:

“Spotter started because the US Special Forces had a need for a very small (<5 lb) wide area radar (1000 m range on a walker) to protect small forces conducting Village Stability Operations (VSOs) in Iraq and Afghanistan in 2007-12. At the time, radar was heavy, cumbersome—often 100 lbs—and required a team of specialists just to get it running. When SOCOM came to us needing a system that could fit in a backpack and survive a parachute jump, they weren’t just asking for a product; they were creating a demand for an entirely new category of security technology.

To meet that need, we had to completely rethink the hardware and the architecture. We stripped away the bulk and complexity, building a device that was portable, battery-efficient, and leveraging new wireless and low power dual core processors. By turning it into a simple Ethernet device with a built-in Web UI and Power over Ethernet, we made it intuitive enough that if a cable broke in the middle of a mission, you could just swap it for any standard Ethernet cord. We didn’t just improve existing radar; we redefined how it was used, turning a specialized military tool into an accessible, field-ready asset.”

Since then, Spotter Global’s catalog has grown to nearly 20 different systems and technologies, including Compact Holographic 3D radar technology and specialized RF-sensing tech designed specifically to sniff out UAS threats, as well as a progressive suite of software that’s grown from simple camera cueing to advanced Radar and Video AI that automatically filters out nuisance alarms. It should be noted that these products now do far more than protect soldiers on the battlefield. 

In 2013, gunmen opened fire on a transformer array at the Metcalf Substation of Pacific Gas & Electric near Coyote, California. This was the most aggressive direct assault on the American power grid on record and, at time of writing this article 13 years later, no arrests have been made. Harris describes how this unprecedented incident pivoted their client base:

“…it was a massive wake-up call that proved the same vulnerabilities our soldiers faced in theater were putting critical U.S. infrastructure at serious risk. That realization pulled us directly into the energy sector, which is now our largest customer base, but that was just the beginning. We’ve since taken that core, battlefield-proven technology and adapted it for a massive range of high-stakes environments—securing dams, ports, chemical plants, border facilities, and prisons.”

Spotter’s technology has even branched out into more unconventional applications like avalanche detection, polar bear monitoring, and residential security.

THE BEST DEFENSE…

We’ve seen everything from nets to cages to microwaves used against drones. But for high-volume, fast-moving swarm attacks, the solution must be able to effectively detect and disable multiple drones at speed. A company called 9 Mothers figures that the answer relies on the fan favorite of infantry soldiers everywhere: superior firepower. But this solution must be superior not only in speed or volume, but in intelligence. Russell Smith, CEO of 9 Mothers, describes their approach:

“Watching the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and seeing Ukrainian soldiers die to FPV drones raised the question of “when is this going to be us?” Post that, we researched the industry and we saw two broken things: First, everyone was shooting effectively static drones. Secondly, all the systems were big, heavy and expensive. To us, the problem is akin to IEDs – they’re everywhere, and nothing has protection against them. So the question was: what can we build that’s small enough, light enough and cheap enough to go on every vehicle (or even be man-portable) – yet also effective enough to stop (multiple) fast moving drones?…In general kinetics are really hard to defend against if you need to build something light and efficient – e.g. a drone. It’s very hard to up-armor one, whilst keeping range & payload plus stopping tungsten at 500m/s. Kinetics are also cost effective per shot and have effectively no power requirements to shoot e.g. compared to laser, or microwaves.”

Their system, called the EDDA, is based off a Genesis Arms 12ga shotgun. There are some modifications – a shortened barrel, shortened steel buffer tube, and modified trigger. The gun is mounted upside-down in its turret to better feed from an ammo chute that looks like it came off an aircraft cannon. The gun system incorporates technology from Spotter Global to detect incoming threats. We asked both CEOs about the nature of their collaborative technology-development journey…

Smith, 9 Mothers: “We’ve tried many other radars from other companies – mostly they’re a combination of one or all of: expensive, big, and power hungry, and/or don’t actually track small fast drones. As our system is ~35-50lbs and low-six-figure price, we can’t generally use super heavy or super expensive radars. Spotter was super responsive to our needs and has always figured out any issues we’ve had with their systems fast. For the price, power and weight, the radar we use from them is by far the best we’ve tried.”

Harris, Spotter Global: “Most legacy radars rely on Electronically Scanned Arrays that suffer from the “soda straw” effect—they act like a flashlight, focusing energy into a narrow beam and scanning it around. By the time that beam finishes its cycle, the threats have already moved. That approach is simply too slow for modern 70 to 120 mph FPV drones. To solve this, we developed our Compact Holographic 3D (CH3D) technology. Think of it as a floodlight rather than a flashlight: it illuminates the entire volume of space 100% of the time, collecting return reflections on up to 50 targets every 56 milliseconds. This makes CH3D the fastest radar in the world—precisely what a weapon system needs to lock onto small, fast-moving drones.”

At a price point lower than some luxury SUVs, the EDDA offers a fiscally attainable, rapidly deployable defense against drone attacks that’s especially well-suited for urban areas or other confined terrain. Smith tells us they are also working on a next-gen system called the ATLA – a designed-from-scratch, belt-fed shotgun that they believe is the world’s first purpose-built, belt-fed 12 gauge. They also produce tungsten shot ammunition specially designed for counter-drone use.

The drone/counter-drone arms race is still in its infancy – a technologically fascinating, practically horrifying reality. This new frontier of warfare is kindling the rapid formation of tech partnerships exemplified by the Spotter Global/9 Mothers collaboration, the likes of which we hope will continue to keep Americans safe in the burgeoning age of unmanned aerial threats.  

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