For Vilnius UAV start-up Granta Autonomy, battlefield experience fuels mission

Granta Autonomy’s battlefield-tested surveillance technology is poised to transform how armed forces manage complicated and multi-discipline reconnaissance missions.

Granta Autonomy, an innovative start-up specialising in fully autonomous unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions, this week announced the successful completion of its one million euros seed funding round.

ScaleWolf VC, the leading Lithuanian dual-use tech VC fund and accelerator, led the round, with participation from Brolis Defence and HFL holdings. The new capital will enable Granta to accelerate the development and production of its cutting-edge lightweight surveillance and reconnaissance UAVs, micro gimbals, and digital Datalink software, which its team has personally tested over Ukraine’s front lines.

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Granta Autonomy has been developing reconnaissance remote-controlled UAV aircraft, lightweight gimbals, and its unique Datalink software since 2015.

Founded by former military engineers Gediminas Guoba and Laurynas Litvinas, the company now provides NATO forces across Europe with its range of hand-launched Hornet UAVs while also providing a range of partners with its proprietary, ultra-reliable, lightweight micro gimbals, which are the lightest direct drive gimbals on the market.

Granta Autonomy’s micro gimbals feature a powerful camera system that allows for clear daytime image capture at long distances (up to five kilometres) and provides vital thermal vision for nighttime operations, ensuring mission success around the clock.

“The traditional battlefield is evolving, and Western armies require robust, reliable, and flexible solutions. Granta Autonomy is committed to ensuring our systems can be readily manufactured across Europe, reducing reliance on external sources,” says Guoba.

“This funding enables us to ramp up our production capacity to deliver the large-scale deployments Europe needs. However, our focus goes beyond just numbers; our team works directly with soldiers on the battlefield, testing our products and software in combat zones and collaborating on solutions that excel in the toughest conditions. This battlefield experience, valued by our Western partners, fuels our mission to revolutionise drone reconnaissance for global militaries.”

An evolving battlefield

Granta Autonomy’s latest UAV, the Hornet XR, is a small, hard-to-detect, hand-launched mini reconnaissance UAV with several critical features for covert missions. With a simple throw take-off and a silent flight lasting up to three hours, it can cover vast distances (up to 160 km) undetected.

Pre-programmed missions ensure autonomous operation, even in radio silence or GNSS-denied environments. The ultra-lightweight aircraft lands itself using a deep-stall method, making it easy to retrieve in tight spaces, and its compact, modular design allows for convenient transport in a car trunk.

Granta Autonomy’s powerful but lightweight GS-214X and GS-218X micro gimbal systems enable Hornets and other third-party drones to capture sharp images from long distances (up to 5 kilometres) during the day and include a thermal camera for missions at night. Granta Autonomy’s Digital Datalink software ensures the gimbal integrates with most Ground Control Station (GCS) software.

Guoba adds: “The Hornet XR exemplifies our design philosophy, which is rooted in the expertise of our military UAV operators and engineers, delivering industry-leading flight time, simple operation, and rugged durability, which brings greater efficiencies, lower costs, and unmatched reliability to complex, multi-disciplinary missions.

“The same goes for our micro gimbals; when we started, there were no gimbals on the market for small UAVs like ours; now, we are producing the lightest direct drive gimbals on the market.”

Groundbreaking technology

Investors clearly believe in Granta Autonomy’s mission. Edvinas Kerza, ScaleWolf VC’s managing partner, and a former vice minister at the Lithuanian Ministry of Defence, says that he has been impressed by the firm’s “groundbreaking technology and vision”.

“Their innovative approach to developing surveillance and reconnaissance technology is second to none and has the potential to revolutionise the way armed forces manage complicated and multi-discipline reconnaissance missions. We look forward to seeing their autonomous UAVs impact the battlefield over the coming years.”

After Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Vilnius-based Granta Autonomy started supplying its UAVs to the Ukrainian front. Today, the Ukrainian army operates a battery of Granta Autonomy UAVs funded by the Lithuanian and other European defence ministries. The company also provides its technology to NATO forces across Europe.

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