Skylance

Skylance GmbH is a defence technology company based in Hürth near Cologne. It is led by CEO Philipp Bohne, a former German Navy officer, and CTO Dr. Tobias de Taillez, a physicist specialising in AI and autonomous systems. The DroneHammer concept originated with e-Wolf GmbH and WARGdrones GmbH before Skylance took over its development.

DroneHammer is a small kinetic interceptor intended for the 100 to 1,500 metre range. According to the company, it reaches about 600 km/h, can engage targets flying at up to 350 km/h and needs less than four seconds from launch to target. It uses passive, digitally coded laser guidance, with the target marked by a laser designator, and a CO2-based warhead that produces a shrapnel cloud. The system is designed to integrate into existing NATO command-and-control architectures.

The company positions DroneHammer as a way to reduce the cost gap between cheap FPV drones and expensive conventional interceptors. In September 2026 the state development bank NRW.BANK invested 500,000 euros in Skylance; at that time the system was being tested and developed further together with the Bundeswehr.