Counter-drone systems from Brandenburg an der Havel: joint venture Onberg Autonomous Systems begins operations

With Onberg Autonomous Systems, a new joint venture for autonomous counter-drone defence has officially launched. It was founded by HD Advanced Technologies (HDAT), a subsidiary of Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg), and the American-Israeli company Ondas Autonomous Systems (OAS); it is headquartered at Heidelberg’s site in Brandenburg an der Havel. Onberg has been operational since 14 April and develops and operates autonomous systems.

Onberg demonstrated that the systems are ready for operational use in a live demonstration. Attendees included Brandenburg’s Minister-President Dietmar Woidke, Ron Prosor as Ambassador of the State of Israel and other high-ranking guests from politics and business. The plan is an integrated one-stop shop covering development, system integration and industrial series production – “made in Brandenburg” and embedded in European supply chains.

Michael Wellenzohn, CEO of HD Advanced Technologies, said: “Today’s demonstration shows that we are not talking about visions of the future but about systems ready for operational use. With Onberg we are establishing an end-to-end one-stop shop for autonomous counter-drone defence based on European supply chains to protect critical infrastructure.” He continued: “Our customers do not receive individual components but a scalable system that combines detection, command and effect and, for the first time, guarantees KRITIS operators fully integrated protection from a single source.”

KRITIS umbrella act increases pressure on operators

The threat is real and acute: in Europe, espionage, sabotage and hybrid attacks on critical infrastructure have increased massively, and drones are now among the most frequently used means of hybrid military strategies. In Germany, around 2,000 facilities currently fall under the KRITIS umbrella act (KRITIS-Dachgesetz, the German critical infrastructure law) – from energy supply to water infrastructure. A failure can affect large parts of the population, in individual cases more than 500,000 people. KRITIS creates a regulatory framework that at the same time puts concrete pressure on operators to establish and expand their protection without delay.

Onberg’s portfolio targets precisely this need. In a holistic approach, detection, command and effect are bundled in a common architecture, and partial technological solutions are merged into an end-to-end, scalable overall solution. In this way Onberg aims to leave fragmented and inefficient stand-alone solutions behind and offer KRITIS operators an immediately deployable solution that allows them to fulfil their legal protection obligations efficiently.

Counter-drone defence for Germany and Ukraine

The systems are designed for the highest requirements of national security and border protection as well as for military, civil and industrial applications. They are based on proven OAS technology; the platforms will be supplemented step by step with further autonomous technologies, sensors and communication solutions. With the operational launch, the systems are being marketed immediately in Germany and Ukraine. Sales, development and production are to grow gradually over the coming months.

Ondas Chairman and CEO Eric Brock emphasised: “Onberg is an important step towards establishing advanced autonomous defence capabilities in Europe. Together with Heidelberg, we combine proven technology with German industrial expertise and execution strength to deliver operational autonomous drone systems from Brandenburg to customers throughout Europe and in international markets.”