MARSS and CURRENT test drone detection and defeat capabilities at Red Sands

MARSS has marked its five-year partnership with CURRENT following a recent drone defeat experiment in the Middle East.  

CURRENT, based in Vancouver, develops electro-optical infrared (EO/IR) systems which MARSS uses in a range of products, including the NiDAR X Compact, an all-in-one package installed on superyachts to provide counter-drone capabilities. 

More recently, however, MARSS has featured CURRENT’s long-range land-based EO/IR systems in the Red Sands exercise, jointly organised by the US Army DEVCOM, ARCENT, and Royal Saudi Air Forces. Here – in extreme conditions at a testing ground in the Middle East – MARSS integrated CURRENT’s ruggedised, and dust and heat-resistant Night Navigator 8000 series, alongside its solid-state panoramic IR sensor, providing continuous 360° situational awareness. In preparation for Red Sands, CURRENT upgraded the Night Navigator cameras, adding a heat shield and additional fans to withstand extreme desert conditions. 

Integrated into MARSS’ NiDAR platform, CURRENT’s products provided real-time visual data, and contributed to a successful exercise, where MARSS demonstrated its end-to-end, detection to defeat counter-drone capabilities.