Counter-UAS laser: Inleap Photonics raises 20 million euros for series production

Around 20 million euros are flowing to Inleap Photonics in a seed financing round. The company, which builds counter-UAS laser effectors, intends to use the funds to ramp up series production and accelerate its expansion in Germany and Europe.

The lead investor is UVC Partners. Also participating are HTGF from Germany, Balnord from Poland, Sentris from Estonia and Scale Capital from Denmark.

Inleap Photonics’ laser systems are designed to defeat unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). According to the company, it is already cooperating with the German Federal Ministry of Defence and the Cyber Innovation Hub of the Bundeswehr (German Armed Forces). Most recently, this was joined by a strategic partnership with Stark Defence, a German defence company.

Our technology has arrived in the market and is recording strong order intake— Marius Lammers, founder and CEO of Inleap

The company is now investing in “manufacturing, quality assurance, sales and service”, Lammers said, so that larger numbers can be delivered. He sets out the goal:

We will establish Inleap Photonics as a central European supplier of laser effectors.— Marius Lammers

Counter-UAS laser with Fastlight Shield and Fastlight Held

The core of the offering consists of two product lines. Fastlight Shield is a laser effector intended for military purposes as well as for protecting civil and critical infrastructure. According to the manufacturer, the system is designed to hit detected drones precisely at their weak points within fractions of a second.

The company emphasises that the effect is intended to be eye-safe. This would make the system suitable for urban or security-sensitive environments as well, for example to protect airports, energy facilities or other critical infrastructure.

With Fastlight Held – short for “High Energy Laser Drone” – Inleap brings the technology to an unmanned ground platform. The laser effector is mounted on a compact, all-terrain unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) and combined with a software platform for counter-UAS (C-UAS). This solution is intended above all for mobile operations.

From prototype to volume

A large share of the new capital is earmarked for establishing and standardising manufacturing and testing processes for both systems. Felix Wellmann, co-founder and CTO, stresses:

The step into series production requires more than just additional capacity— Felix Wellmann, CTO and co-founder of Inleap

Every unit must be manufactured, tested and accepted under comparable conditions, Wellmann said.

In addition to more production and test capacity, quality assurance and resilient supply chains are therefore also to receive funding. In parallel, Inleap is continuing to develop the technology, with particular attention to the eye-safe mode of action planned for Fastlight Shield.

The company also intends to expand sales and service, including additional sites in Germany and elsewhere in Europe. The aim is to be closer to public-sector customers and security-relevant organisations and to strengthen its presence on the European market.

Amanda Birkenholz, partner at UVC, sees particular potential in Inleap’s dual-use approach:

Counter-drone defence has long ceased to be a purely military issue. Airports, energy facilities and data centres need the same protection as defence installations.— Amanda Birkenholz, UVC Partners

Following the 20 million euro financing, Inleap Photonics’ priority now is to move from development and initial customer projects to larger numbers. Besides product development, the decisive factor is likely to be how quickly the laser effectors can transition into reliable series production.