Lithuanian company Granta Autonomy has delivered hundreds of advanced GA-10FPV-AI attack drones to Ukraine under a €1 million contract, Forbes reports.
“Even in 2014, it was already obvious that drones would create a difference,” Gediminas Guoba, CEO and co-founder of Granta Autonomy, said.
The Vilnius-based company is one of the few foreign manufacturers producing highly capable drones to survive intense electronic warfare environments at low cost. Forbes tech correspondent David Hambling notes that US equivalents tend to be “astronomically expensive and vulnerable to jamming.”
“The hardware in FPVs is all at least ten years old,” explains Guoba. “The difference is in the software. The autopilot is all software, the communications capabilities to beat jammers are software, and the optical lock on target is software. You can have two drones with the same hardware, but software can give them completely different capabilities.”
What makes these drones particularly effective is their unique approach to electronic countermeasures.
“Our GA-10FPV-AI attack drone employs a unique anti-jamming approach,” Guoba explained. “Instead of seeking alternative frequencies, it powers through the jammed signal.”
Granta’s drones have proven their effectiveness in Ukraine’s challenging combat conditions. During tests, even when their drones’ communication frequency was known, electronic warfare operators using a powerful 2.5-kilowatt jammer could not disrupt them.
The company’s drone development has been heavily influenced by battlefield experience. Guoba and his team actually went to the front lines in Ukraine to gain firsthand knowledge of operational conditions.
“Participation, doing those missions at the front lines, that is absolutely different compared to working in military ranges and on exercises,” Guoba said. “It changes your mindset.”
Unlike many competitors who source components from China, Granta prioritizes local sourcing.
“We source everything locally,” Guoba noted. “For most things – PCBs, magnets, motors – there is no problem.”
The GA-10FPV-AI drones can carry payloads of up to 3 kilograms (6.6 pounds) and have an operational range of up to 20 kilometers (12 miles). Ukrainian forces also operate Granta’s Hornet XR drone, a fixed-wing reconnaissance aircraft with a three-hour flight time that can conduct fully autonomous missions at ranges of up to 100 miles.
Granta Autonomy has been preparing for drone warfare for more than a decade, beginning after Russia’s 2014 invasion of Crimea when Guoba and co-founder Laurynas Litvinas established the company to develop asymmetric weapons to help Lithuania counter potential Russian aggression.
Read more:
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