Counter-drone protection for vehicles: Graz start-up Guardaero wins “Protection Award” in Munich

A defence tech start-up from Austria has come out on top in Munich with counter-drone technology: the Graz-based company Guardaero secured the “Protection Award” at the Defence Innovation Pitch Day 2026. The decisive factor was APS1, an active protection system designed to automatically protect military vehicles against incoming first-person view (FPV) drones.

The pitch event was organised by Behörden Spiegel. Around 150 invited guests from the Bundeswehr (German armed forces), the defence industry, research and the start-up scene gathered for it on 19 October at the Alte Rotation in Munich. The focus was on new technologies that are to move from development into military use as quickly as possible.

Unlike the usual meetings with investors, the emphasis was on practical demonstrations, hands-on prototypes and direct conversations with military users. On show were not only solutions for counter-drone defence and protection, but also, for example, innovations in sensors, robotics, communications and reconnaissance.

In the “Protection” category, Guardaero came first with APS1, its active system against drones.

Last line of defence against FPV attacks

The company was founded in 2025. It is working on a modular system designed to protect military vehicles at very close range against attacks from the air by drones. Passive sensors detect and track the incoming drones, which are then engaged by a kinetic effector.

Guardaero currently uses a shot-based solution for this. APS1 is intended as a last line of defence against attacking drones, complementing existing protective measures.

Because the technology is not tied to a specific vehicle, it can in principle also be retrofitted to existing fleets – ranging from off-road vehicles to armoured combat vehicles.

Counter-drone system tested in a research project with the Austrian Armed Forces

This is not the first award for Guardaero. As early as the beginning of 2025, the company won the Defence Innovation Garage Challenge at the first Austrian Defence Innovation Conference (ADIC) in Klagenfurt.

This victory led to a research project with the Austrian Ministry of Defence and the Austrian Armed Forces (Bundesheer). Since then, the system has been tested several times under real test conditions, successfully engaging attacking drones.

Together with the Bundesheer, Guardaero showed APS1 on a military vehicle in May 2026, at the technology day of the Europa-Forum Wachau.

According to Lukas Kerschdorfer, the company's founder and managing director, the system can currently detect drones at a distance of up to 80 metres and engage them from around 50 metres.

Target: market readiness in 2027

The start-up has also made progress commercially recently. A seed funding round in the low single-digit millions was completed in the spring. The investors include Angels United and BKlemen Beteiligungsgesellschaft.

The team now has more than ten members. In addition to its headquarters in Graz, Guardaero has a site in Gilching in Bavaria.

The live-fire tests have been successfully completed, and development is now focused on integrating the protection system into various vehicle platforms. APS1 is to be ready for market by 2027 for wider use in military vehicle fleets.

The award in Munich brings the Austrian company more attention in the German defence market. This gives it the opportunity to present its technology directly to potential industrial partners and military users.