Drone Prevention Systems

Team Athena didn't come to build another sensor. They came to solve an identification crisis—when Ukrainian forces can't distinguish enemy drones from the noise, 200-meter no man's lands become killing fields.

What's At Stake

On the Ukrainian front lines, drone identification determines survival. Russian FPV, ISR, and Shahed drones exploit the narrow 200-300 meter gaps between opposing forces, where current detection systems struggle with accuracy. Ukrainian soldiers told Team Athena that identification represents 60% of the battle against drones—and over 90% of successful intercepts rely on kinetic methods that demand precise, early detection.

Field Validation in Europe

Led by Katherine Liao, Team Athena recognized that drone warfare problems aren't solved from San Diego—they're solved where soldiers face the threat daily. Their breakthrough came during a European research sprint across three countries, where they conducted 52 interviews at defense technology conferences.

The team connected directly with Ukrainian soldiers who had served on front lines or worked in airspace defense. These conversations validated their multi-sensor approach while revealing critical deployment requirements: any system heading to the battlefield must be field-tested first. Two startup founders offered connections to frontline units willing to test their prototype.

Synthesized Detection System

Team Athena developed a fiber-optic connected detection system combining custom RF and acoustic sensors. Their RF sensor covers 900 MHz - 5.8 GHz with omnidirectional coverage, using passive detection to avoid revealing position. The acoustic component captures 20Hz - 20kHz with high sensitivity, designed for omnidirectional deployment simplicity.

The system synthesizes RF and acoustic data through machine learning trained on existing frontline datasets, enabling rapid analysis of whether detected signals indicate enemy drones. The solution addresses Ukraine's immediate need for accurate identification in contested airspace.

Operators of Another Kind

Katherine Liao, leading the effort from UC San Diego, brought systems integration thinking to battlefield sensor challenges. Working alongside teammates Nathan Tosoc and Jeffrey Thi, the team combined technical development with direct stakeholder engagement in the conflict zone.

What Comes Next

Team Athena has established connections for battlefield testing through Ukrainian contacts willing to deploy their system on active front lines. Their solution targets the critical identification gap that determines whether Ukrainian forces can effectively counter Russian drone operations.

They didn't just theorize about drone detection. They went to where the war is fought and built solutions for it.