Yesterday, at iForum, the largest IT conference in Eastern Europe, Octava Defence founder Oleksandr Kardakov presented the first unique platform for protecting critical infrastructure facilities, called SPHERE. The team of the famous IT businessman has been working on the development for a year. SPHERE is a single integrated system that combines radar, acoustic sensors, optical and thermal imaging systems, and software that provides information for active fire countermeasures. This allows the system to quickly identify an enemy target and quickly neutralise it. The use of an automated control system makes it possible to make the right decision in a few minutes and provide all the necessary information about the enemy target, its coordinates and flight path. Another advantage of the SPHERE is the full automation of the process of detecting and neutralising Shahed-type kamikaze drones, corrector drones and other UAVs. The probability of correct identification of an air target ranges from 0.9 to 1, and the error of correct identification of an air target is close to 0. The principle of operation of the SPHERE is quite simple: A radar station located outside the infrastructure facility detects targets at a distance of up to 30 km. The FENEK acoustic sensor system determines the azimuth and angle of the target and identifies it using mathematical processing. The ZIR video surveillance subsystem provides visual and thermal surveillance around the clock. “ZIR adjusts the direction to the target, the azimuth and angle of the target, the type of target and its trajectory, its speed, and records the fact of target destruction. All information is automatically processed and gives a command to the UAV destruction subsystem and is transmitted to air defence units and others equipped with anti-aircraft and small arms. As a result, SPHERE will become a modern technological solution capable of protecting the country’s infrastructure. “It is important to manufacture unique defence and military developments on an industrial scale,” said Oleksandr Kardakov on stage. “We will do everything to ensure that the military industry in Ukraine starts working and developing, both now and after our victory. Watch the animated video to learn more about the work of the SPHERE This year, iForum presented Military Tech for the first time, headed by the co-organiser of the conference, Oleksandr Kardakov. In addition to the issues of protecting critical infrastructure in wartime and post-war, the participants discussed building a national defence industry ecosystem with Minister of Strategic Industries Oleksandr Kamyshyn and unmanned robotic systems with Maria Berlinska, Magyar and Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov, investments in Ukrainian defence tech together with Brave1 CEO Natalia Kushnerska and Serhiy Prytula, as well as OSINT – modern intelligence of Ukraine together with Artem Starosek (MOLFAR), Yanina Sokolova (Slidstvo. Info) and Ilya Vityuk, a representative of the Security Service of Ukraine.
