The war in Ukraine has put drones at the center of modern warfare, leading to a high demand for systems that can fight back against them. However, traditional solutions like ground-based defense systems and cyber warfare are often very expensive. German startup Alpine Eagle is working to create a more affordable answer to this problem.
“We use low-cost, mass-producible systems to balance the advantage of cheap strike drones,” said Jan-Hendrik Boelens, the Dutch entrepreneur who co-founded Alpine Eagle in 2023. The company’s product, Sentinel, is a combination of software and hardware designed to be cost-efficient.
Unlike other ground-based counter-drone solutions, like Hover’s counter-drone turret, Sentinel operates in the air. It features modular sensors that aren’t affected by terrain or obstacles, making it more flexible and harder to target. Its main unit, or “mothership,” carries kamikaze interceptors that can either capture or destroy hostile drones using nets or direct impact.
Although this technology could have uses in law enforcement and other areas, it is primarily in demand for military use due to the current geopolitical climate. Alpine Eagle has already secured the German army as a customer, and has achieved significant revenue in its first year of business. This success helped the company raise €10.25 million (about $10.96 million) in a Series A funding round led by the British venture capital firm IQ Capital.
The company is now planning to expand its team, which includes machine learning specialists and aeronautical engineers, and grow its headcount to 40. The U.K. is a key market for Alpine Eagle’s expansion, as its technology is useful not only on the battlefield but also in protecting military bases and critical infrastructure.
Alpine Eagle’s growth is part of a broader trend of European defense tech startups gaining attention from venture capital firms. The company’s investors now include firms from Estonia, Germany, and Poland, all countries that are focusing on strengthening their defense technologies.
Boelens emphasized the importance of ensuring that the system is fully mature before deploying it in conflict zones like Ukraine. After successful testing with the German army, Alpine Eagle is now testing Sentinel in Ukraine, where the system is being used to identify specific challenges, like fiber optic drones that are harder to detect due to their reliance on cables instead of radio frequencies.
Alpine Eagle’s technology is also designed to handle challenges that other counter-drone systems face, such as detecting drones that are immune to radio frequency (RF) interference. The system can integrate radar panels to detect low-flying drones, which are often hard for ground-based systems to spot.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is a key component of Alpine Eagle’s technology, helping the system to adapt and improve its tactics based on what it has learned from real-world situations. The system’s ability to swarm multiple drones is another important feature. This strategy allows one operator to control many drones at once, making the system more efficient and reducing the number of soldiers needed for missions.
“We realized that Western countries face a shortage of soldiers, so we aim to create a system where one operator can manage many drones, turning soldiers into mission managers rather than pilots,” Boelens explained.
