Kytyra

Counter-UAS systems are getting better at detecting drones, but a critical gap remains between detection and mitigation: reliably confirming what the target is, locating it precisely, and producing a targeting-quality handoff. That gap becomes more important as drones become increasingly autonomous, RF-silent, smaller, and harder to identify with conventional RF or imaging-based sensors. Defense, national security, and critical infrastructure operators need a confirmation layer that works across environments and integrates with the sensors and mitigation systems already in place.

Kytyra’s AerialEcho is a novel lidar-based confirmation and targeting sensor built specifically to fill this gap. Rather than creating images or 3D point clouds, AerialEcho analyzes the waveforms to extract identifying characteristics of a target, enabling it to confirm, classify, locate, and track drones—including RF-silent and autonomous threats—without relying on RF emissions or conventional imaging. Designed to integrate with radar, RF, EO/IR, C2, and mitigation systems, AerialEcho adds a complementary sensing layer rather than requiring customers to replace their existing counter-UAS infrastructure. The underlying sensing approach was originally developed for detecting and classifying insects and has since been adapted to address the much larger counter-UAS opportunity.

Kytyra is currently executing a U.S. Army Phase II program to advance AerialEcho toward deployment and is targeting TRL 6 demonstrations in 2026. The company has already demonstrated drone recognition, bird-versus-drone classification, and localization in field testing and is now extending range, improving targeting accuracy, and integrating with complementary C2 and mitigation technologies. Kytyra's founder is an Activate Fellow and was selected for the Los Alamos National Laboratory's LEEP program, providing additional technical resources and access to national-lab expertise to accelerate development. The company is also actively working with defense primes, integrators, and government end users to position AerialEcho for follow-on programs and commercialization.

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  Round Rock · Nov 24, 2025

  The Round Rock Chamber is proud to congratulate Atolla Tech on being awarded a $15,000 Defense Innovation Fund (DIF) grant, a program designed to accelerate high-potential, dual-use technologies and strengthen Round Rock’s growing defense innovation ecosystem. Atolla Tech is an emerging leader in advanced sensing and detection technologies. Their work focuses on developing lightweight, efficient, […]

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  Atolla Tech | Capital Factory

  Capital Factory

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