Polish-Ukrainian startup develops radar to track elusive, low-flying drones

WARSAW, Poland — Polish-Ukrainian anti-drone radar company Molfar Defence said it is developing a new generation of tactical radar systems for drone types that have doggedly managed to penetrate Ukrainian defenses.

The technology aims to find small, low-altitude drones, including those connected to operators via long command wires, a setup that makes them immune to defensive electronic warfare.

Maks Dzherikhov, the co-founder of Molfar Defence, told Defense News the company is working on solutions to complement the existing air-defense infrastructure, which is increasingly struggling to identify smaller and slower-moving airborne threats.

“We see how quickly drone production is scaling up globally, and how fast autonomous radio protocols and capabilities are growing. Also, we see that large and expensive radar systems can be destroyed, and the recent situation in the Gulf region shows that high-value radar infrastructure can be targeted and damaged very easily. When this happens, you create blind spots,” Dzherikhov said. “At Molfar, our main focus is on the detection of low-flying UAVs, especially multi-rotor drones in difficult conditions.”

Incursions by Russian drones into NATO airspace, paired with Russia’s tactic of using GPS spoofing to steer Ukrainian strike drones off course and drive them into allied territory, are pushing eastern flank states to intensify investments into counter-drone measures.

At recent tests held in Latvia’s Sēlija, which hosts NATO’s new unmanned systems testing range, European startups were able to successfully take down numerous drones. However, every failed attempt served as a reminder of the challenges that companies face in adapting their solutions to evolving battlefield threats.

Molfar’s radars use advanced signal processing and multidimensional structural target representation to distinguish drones from other airborne objects, and are capable of operating in complex environments and adverse weather conditions, according to the company’s co-founder.

“Fiber-optic drones, and in general drones using transmission, are developing very fast. Such drones are difficult to detect because they fly very low, close to the ground. They’re very small, and for many radars detecting them is a huge challenge,” he said. “In the past, radar systems were developed to detect really big and very fast-moving targets.”

To finance its development work, the Polish-Ukrainian company recently secured a new investor, Sweden’s Front Ventures, which led a €2 million ($2.3 million) funding round with its €1.5 million investment.

The company’s head office is in Poland’s capital Warsaw, and Molfar Defence is currently opening a Ukrainian branch that will cooperate with Ukraine’s military to adapt its radar systems to combat conditions. Under the plan, mass production is scheduled to begin in late 2027, according to Dzherikhov.

Jaroslaw Adamowski is the Poland correspondent for Defense News.

波兰华沙——波兰-乌克兰反无人机雷达公司 Molfar Defence 表示，该公司正在开发新一代战术雷达系统，用于对抗那些顽强突破乌克兰防御的无人机。

该技术旨在发现小型、低空无人机，包括那些通过长控制线与操作员连接的无人机，这种设置使它们能够抵御防御性电子战。

Molfar Defence 的联合创始人 Maks Dzherikhov 告诉《防务新闻》，该公司正在研究解决方案，以补充现有的防空基础设施，因为该基础设施越来越难以识别较小且移动速度较慢的空中威胁。

“我们看到全球无人机生产规模正在迅速扩大，自主无线电协议和能力也在飞速发展。同时，我们也看到大型昂贵的雷达系统可能被摧毁，海湾地区最近的局势表明，高价值的雷达基础设施很容易成为攻击目标并遭到破坏。这种情况一旦发生，就会造成探测盲区，”杰里霍夫说道。“在莫尔法公司，我们的主要研究方向是探测低空飞行的无人机，尤其是在复杂条件下探测多旋翼无人机。”

俄罗斯无人机入侵北约空域，再加上俄罗斯利用 GPS 欺骗技术引导乌克兰攻击型无人机偏离航线并使其进入盟国领土，正促使东翼国家加大对反无人机措施的投资。

在最近于拉脱维亚塞利亚（北约新建无人系统测试场所在地）举行的测试中，欧洲初创企业成功击落了多架无人机。然而，每一次失败的尝试都提醒着人们，企业在调整解决方案以应对不断变化的战场威胁时，面临着诸多挑战。

据该公司联合创始人称，Molfar 的雷达采用先进的信号处理和多维结构目标表示技术，能够将无人机与其他空中物体区分开来，并且能够在复杂的环境和恶劣的天气条件下运行。

“光纤无人机，以及所有使用传输技术的无人机，发展速度都非常快。这类无人机很难被探测到，因为它们飞行高度很低，贴近地面。它们体积很小，对许多雷达来​​说，探测它们是一个巨大的挑战，”他说道。“过去，雷达系统是为探测体积庞大、移动速度极快的目标而开发的。”

为了筹集研发资金，这家波兰-乌克兰合资公司最近获得了一位新投资者——瑞典的 Front Ventures，该公司领投了 200 万欧元（230 万美元）的融资轮，并投资了 150 万欧元。

该公司总部位于波兰首都华沙，目前莫尔法防务公司正在乌克兰开设分公司，该分公司将与乌克兰军方合作，使其雷达系统适应作战环境。​​据杰里霍夫称，根据该计划，批量生产预计将于2027年底开始。

Jaroslaw Adamowski 是《防务新闻》驻波兰记者。