Counter-UAS on NATO's eastern flank: Origin and Anduril plan to integrate Blaze into Lattice

Networked counter-UAS for NATO's eastern flank is the goal of a new partnership: the Latvian company Origin and the US defence technology group Anduril have signed a Memorandum of Understanding.

At the core of the agreement is the possible integration of Blaze, Origin's autonomous interceptor system, into Lattice, Anduril's sensor-agnostic command and information platform. Counter-drone systems, radars and other sensors are thus to converge on a common layer.

Data from different sensors and unmanned systems is processed by Lattice and made available to operators as a common situational picture. For Blaze, this opens the way to becoming part of a broader, multi-layered air defence as an interceptor component.

Counter-UAS in a practical test: trials in Latvia

In Latvia, Origin and Anduril want to jointly test, demonstrate and validate the combined systems. Also envisaged are the development of operational concepts, the exchange of data and an assessment of effectiveness in different counter-drone scenarios.

The agreement came about during a Latvian business delegation to the USA. The Investment and Development Agency of Latvia (LIAA) had organised the trip on the occasion of President Edgars Rinkēvičs' official visit to the USA.

From the Latvian perspective, the cooperation is a step towards linking the country's own defence technologies with US systems and launching joint projects. Beyond that, the collaboration is intended to better enable smaller NATO states to protect their airspace against growing drone threats.