Counter-UAS in Hamburg: police procure A1 Falke counter-drone systems from Argus Interception

Unidentified drones over airports and other security-sensitive infrastructure have become a far more seriously regarded threat in Germany in recent years. Hamburg responded early: even before the 2024 European Football Championship, the Hamburg police built up modern capabilities for using drones and for countering them. These are now set to grow further. To strengthen police counter-unmanned aircraft systems (counter-UAS) capabilities, the city is investing in additional modern systems from Argus Interception.

Andy Grote, Senator for the Interior of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, emphasised: “Hamburg is continuously developing its counter-drone capabilities. Not least the attempted attack in Leipzig has made clear that consistent action and next technological steps are required.” He added: “By acquiring modern drone detection and interception systems, we are strengthening our protection against hybrid attacks quickly and effectively, relying on a highly efficient system that was developed as the result of a Hamburg research cooperation.”

A new counter-UAS option for the police

The A1 Falke systems procured are to be put into service this year. They complement the existing systems of the Hamburg police and extend their capabilities above all in complex and sensitive operating environments. The A1 drones are designed for various scenarios, ranging from the protection of critical infrastructure and public events to other security-relevant situations.

The decisive factor at Argus Interception is an integrated system approach rather than a single technology: detection, situational picture, assessment and decision interlock in a coordinated way, up to and including controlled intervention. The Hamburg police thus gain an additional operational option for their existing defence against unmanned aircraft.

For the company, the procurement also symbolically closes a circle, as key technological foundations come from Hamburg's research community. The Helmut Schmidt University and the University of the Bundeswehr Hamburg (the university of the German Armed Forces) led the consortium of the Falke research project, which, together with other partners, investigated how non-cooperative drones can be consistently detected and defeated under real operational conditions.

“Not least the attempted attack in Leipzig has made clear that consistent action and next technological steps are required.”
Andy Grote, Senator for the Interior of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg

In recent years, Argus has further developed and industrialised the resulting technological approaches and turned them into a counter-UAS solution ready for operational use. Among others, the Bundeswehr already uses the company's systems.

Sven Steingräber, co-founder and Chief Sales Officer of Argus Interception, says: “With Hamburg, a special circle closes for us: this is where important origins of our technology lie. And today this becomes a concrete operational capability for public security. It shows how deployable solutions can emerge from German research, industrial development and close cooperation with users.”