Counter terrorism kit made by Northumberland-based OpenWorks Engineering has been commissioned by the US Army for a training session in Italy.
OpenWorks was formed five years ago by a team of engineers who tapped into their years of experience and expertise while working for others to create SkyWall, a handheld piece of equipment which captures rogue drones and brings them to earth.
The team used personal funds to finance all design, research and development and manufacturing work – and their products are used by authorities across the world to catch Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) which stray into areas they shouldn’t go.
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Now soldiers on a training session in Longare have been trained to operate OpenWorks’ SkyWall Patrol drone capture system to capture static and moving targets during test scenarios, as part of the US Army in Africa’s mission to bring new technology to the region.
The company has been leading the sector in global security technology since it released its SkyWall Patrol system in 2016, supplying systems to law enforcement and military customers around the world, to provide close protection to the likes of airports, major infrastructure and even world leaders at summits.
It protected former US President Barack Obama during his visit to Berlin in 2016 but this is the first time that the company has been able to discuss its involvement with the US Army.
During the exercise, US Army soldiers achieved captures after minimal training and were able to operate the system effectively and safely in live demonstrations.
OpenWorks director James Cross said: “We have been working with the US military since 2016 and this exercise has been a great test of our product capability, in-service support delivery and builds upon our existing relationship with US security forces.”
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“Our dedicated team of engineers will continue to drive the development of the best drone capture systems in the world, working closely with the world’s leading military organisations to ensure that SkyWall net capture systems continue to be the most capable available.”
The Longare exercise was also attended by law enforcement officers from the Carabinieri, the national gendarmerie of Italy which primarily carries out domestic policing duties.
As the use of drones in domestic crime and terrorist attacks becomes more likely, police require safe and low risk options to counter this threat and Openworks says that SkyWall offers solution for this issue.
As well as the Skywall Patrol handheld drone capture system, OpenWorks has also recently launched a range of products including SkyWall Auto Response which is a vehicle-mounted, autonomous system that rapidly captures multiple targets in accurately delivered nets.