The Latvian start-up Origin Robotics from Riga has presented an autonomous interceptor against UAVs (C-UAS). The system, called Blaze, is designed to close gaps in ground-based air defense.
Drones have fundamentally changed modern warfare – they dictate strategies on the battlefield and shift the balance of power. Their widespread use, particularly in Ukraine (-> current news from the Ukraine war), has highlighted both their effectiveness and the high cost of fighting them.
In January 2025 alone, Russia deployed more than 2,500 drones over Ukrainian territory – an average of 80 per day. According to Origin Robotics, this escalation underlines the urgent need for advanced yet cost-effective air defense solutions.
Blaze is a portable, rapidly deployable interceptor designed to engage fast-moving airborne threats – including errant munitions and hostile UAVs. The system combines radar-based detection with AI-powered computer vision, enabling autonomous target acquisition and operator-approved interception. Equipped with a high-explosive (HE) fragmentation warhead, it is designed to provide precise and effective threat elimination – even in contested environments.
Thanks to the combination of radar tracking and AI-supported computer vision, Blaze independently detects, captures and tracks targets. Once authorized by the operator, the system carries out a precisely calculated attack: The target is either destroyed by direct impact or disabled by an airburst in the immediate vicinity.
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