ADVANCED HIGH-FREQUENCY MICROWAVE AMPLIFIERS AGAINST HOSTILE DRONES

Drones have become more commonplace in today’s society. You see them fly over more often, to take breathtaking shots at festivals or to use them to inspect the facades of buildings. However, there’s also a flip side to it, where drones are also used for criminal activities and warfare. That’s why Anton Atanasov and Jasmine Sharifa Szimanneck founded the UT & TNO spin-off AnGard Microwave. With their advanced high-frequency microwave amplifiers, they found a way to counter these hostile drones.

Nowadays, drones have become a weaponized toy. “They’re now used to smuggle drugs into prisons, spy on infrastructure or military bases, or they can carry explosives and drop them wherever,” describes Jasmine. “Imagine if a drone with an explosive were to fly over a stadium where there’s a concert. You can imagine the damage it would do, but currently, there’s nothing we could do to stop it.” Her good friend Anton was working on his PhD project at the University of Twente, funded by the defense department of TNO. He developed the technology for AnGard Microwave during that time. When the duo put one and one together, they knew they had something special. Anton: “AnGard Microwave is the result of a very fruitful partnership. I understand what my technology can do, and Jasmine understands the problems it can solve.”

Looming threat

Their invention almost makes it seem like they’re fighting fire with fire. Yet, they’re not developing a fight drone. “It’s more like an accessory to the drone,” says Anton. “We make a portable electronic warfare system that a drone can carry. It can be used to jam and turn off illegal or unwanted drones, be it around prisons or bases or the front lines in Ukraine, for instance. Our technology can disrupt the drone's communication and force it to land in a controlled way so it doesn’t crash. That could be very useful for many situations, from maritime traffic to paparazzi illegally filming celebrities.” Jasmine says the issue also arises closer to home: “It’s a looming threat and more insidious than you may think. Someone could fly a drone with explosives to a Christmas market and cause so much harm, from the comfort of their own home. Or they could fly past office buildings and steal sensitive information. It’s gamified, almost. We wanted to develop a solution that fully counters this threat.”

“One day, I woke up, and something in me told me I had to start a company.”

Robust and cost-efficient

Their systems are so precise that they won’t target the drones that carry them. “Our electronic warfare payload can either jam the controls or spoof the navigation of the illegal drone and send it back to where it came from without hitting its target,” explains Anton. For the case of unjammable drones, such as fiber-optic or AI-controlled, AnGard is developing a high-power microwave system that can disable their electronics at a distance. Anton: “It’s a high-power, high-efficiency, very directional system. We can guarantee that there is no interference. The system creates a strong electromagnetic pulse in a controlled direction, which then overloads the drone's electronics to disable it.”

Lasers are an alternative technology. However, they come with certain limitations. Jasmine: “Lasers are very precise and long-range, but they’re also very fragile. If the lenses get dirty - which is a realistic scenario in the trenches - the laser won’t work anymore. Our high-power microwaves are robust and can handle dirt. It’s also more cost-efficient to operate, and it can take on a whole swarm of drones at the same time. Our system comes with a lot of advantages.”

Never been done before

With their drive to make the world better protected, Anton knew he had to start a company. “One day, I woke up, and something in me told me I had to start a company based on my research findings,” he says. “My PhD was almost over, and I pondered where to go next. I felt that I wanted to make an impact on the world, and I knew what my technology could do. That’s when I called Jasmine.” She was convinced, and so they started the process of founding a spin-off. It’s the first joint spin-off of the University of Twente and TNO's Defense, Safety & Security unit. “That was very exciting,” says Jasmine. “It had never been done before, so both parties had to put in the effort to make it work. Luckily, they believed in us as much as we do.”

“We’re developing for today, but we’re also planning for tomorrow.”

From researcher to entrepreneur

Around the same time, the team received a TTT Smart Industry voucher. “That was a smooth process,” says Anton. “The speed of the process was great, which allowed me to rewire my brain sooner to transition from researcher to entrepreneur. It was a vote of confidence for us, while entrepreneurship was still completely alien to me. There’s a massive support system for spin-offs from TNO, TTT, Novel-T, and the surrounding ecosystem. It is very valuable to me.” Jasmine also brought in a lot of business experience. “Anton is the tech guy, and I’m more comfortable with the business side of things,” she says. “That makes us very complementary as co-founders. Still, our mindset is the same. Once we set our focus on something, we can move mountains. We don’t stop until it’s done.” 

To space and beyond

Their focus is not only on a better-protected world but also on a better-connected one. Anton: “In ten years, we will be global players in the electronic warfare, defense, and security markets. Furthermore, we will have a powerful presence in the SatCom markets with our microwave transmitter chips, which we will develop soon. Recently, one of our proposed ideas to the European Space Agency was invited to tender, with which we will propose a project to design amplifiers for the SatCom market.” Still, they don’t underestimate the challenge at hand. Jasmine: “Of course, we’re working towards a safer world, but the field is very dynamic, especially with all the geopolitical events currently. We have to stay agile and think one step ahead. We’re developing for today, but we’re also planning for tomorrow.”