DefendEye’s Overwatch drone goes into mass production: launches in seconds, no pilot needed

DefendEye, a developer of autonomous drones, has secured a major investment round to scale up production of its flagship product, the Overwatch drone, designed for police, firefighters, and rescue teams. The round was led by NovaCapital.

The Overwatch is a fully autonomous system that requires no pilot. It deploys in seconds from a compact, weather-resistant container. The drone is equipped with a tactical LTE modem and onboard artificial intelligence that can detect and identify people from the air. Operators can control the device directly from a smartphone.

According to the company, the drone is already changing the approach to emergency response by providing rescuers with instant situational awareness that can save lives. The system was specifically built for police, fire, and search-and-rescue services that need to quickly assess a scene before personnel arrive on site.

DefendEye has set up production in Hallandale Beach, Florida, and opened an additional facility in Krakow, Poland. This dual-location strategy allows the company to comply with U.S. regulations on supply chain control for defense equipment.

DefendEye was founded in Poland in 2023 as a startup specializing in fully autonomous drones.