World Defense Show 2024: DefSecIntel continues CUAS deliveries to Ukraine and notes lessons learned

5th February 2024 - 17:21 GMT | by Damian Kemp in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

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Made by DefSecIntel, the SurveilSPIRE surveillance towers are being provided to Ukraine. (Photo: Rheinmetall)

SurveilSPIRE surveillance towers, made by DefSecIntel, can be loaded onto trailers and quickly transported to their area of operation. Systems were ordered for Ukraine in March and October 2023.

Estonia’s DefSecIntel has continued deliveries of it SurveilSPIRE surveillance and CUAS to Ukraine, part of two orders placed last year, but has already noted lessons learned from the system being used in a war.

The tower system has been mounted on a trailer and provided by Rheinmetall and DefSecintel to the German government for delivery to Ukrainian forces.

The first order was placed in March 2023 and described by the companies as in the “double-digit million-euro range” and the second was placed in October 2023.

DefSecIntel CEO Jaanus Tamm told Shephard at World Defense Show 2024 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, that several lessons had been learned from the systems’ operations in Ukraine.

“We have learned the system can be used in a range of situations but importantly that there is a need for local support for maintenance and upgrades,” Tamm said. “These things need to occur in weeks and not [in months] to prove useful and for endurance so we have a presence in Kyiv.

“The key thing is we always have to think about how to make the system resistant to jamming and spoofing. It is important too, because of the nature of conflict, to have the system that is easy and fast to set up and take down.”

The company has also supplied its Caiman mobile surveillance system, which can be integrated with the SurveilSPIRE as part of a system, to Ukraine.

The Caiman system was integrated with a sports utility vehicle but can be added to any large commercial or civilian 4x4 as it is platform agnostic. The sensor provides laser rangefinder capability out to 14km, thermal imaging up to 16km and high-speed camera up to 20km.

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Damian Kemp

Damian Kemp has worked in the defence media for 25 years covering military aircraft, defence …

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