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El Segundo, CA, July 22, 2025 — Picogrid announced today a new partnership with Alta Ares, a startup developing autonomous guidance systems for affordable air defense interceptor drones. Alta Ares is the latest member to join Picogrid’s Partner Ecosystem, a group of companies committed to joint interoperability.
The partnership addresses a pressing operational gap for the U.S. and NATO allies: the lack of scalable, cost-effective defenses against loitering munitions and glide bombs. These weapons—often inexpensive, expendable, and deployed in large quantities—are designed to circumvent traditional air defense systems. Intercepting them with existing Western platforms, such as advanced surface-to-air missiles, is often prohibitively expensive and unsustainable in prolonged conflicts.
Last month, Picogrid and Alta Ares participated in a NATO Allied Command Transformation (ACT) exercise in Biscarrosse, France, to explore how the joint solution would function. Much like the U.S. Army Transformation Initiative, other NATO nations are increasingly adopting startup-driven, iterative engineering to stay ahead of evolving threats.
The companies’ integrated solution combines Picogrid’s Legion software, capable of fusing data from dispersed air defense sensors to detect and track threats, with Alta Ares’ Gamma, which autonomously directs interceptor drones toward incoming targets. The result is a compact, modular sensor-to-shooter capability.
“As Russia expands its use of kamikaze drones in Ukraine, air defense deployed at scale is no longer optional,” said Hadrien Canter, CEO of Alta Ares. “By focusing on autonomous guidance and relying on Legion for interoperability with other sensors, we delivered and tested a field-ready prototype within days. It’s impressive how fast we can move by relying on Picogrid.”
“We’re excited to welcome Alta Ares to the Partner Ecosystem,” said Martin Slosarik, co-founder of Picogrid. “Our military partners use Legion across domains and mission areas, assembling flexible systems from a growing library of sensors and drones. This is a perfect example of how the military can quickly build solutions on the fly with our Partner Ecosystem integrations.”
Picogrid is working hard to keep pace with partner integrations. A limited number of Q3 onboarding slots remain—interested companies can apply here.
About Picogrid
Picogrid is a technology company that develops products to integrate mission-critical military and commercial systems. Its next-generation hardware and software solutions connect mission-critical technologies—including sensors, drones, and digital platforms—to enhance operational effectiveness. Backed by prominent Silicon Valley investors and deployed globally, Picogrid is dedicated to advancing integrated defense solutions across land, sea, air, and space. Learn more at picogrid.com.
About Alta Ares
Alta Ares is a defense technology company developing AI-powered guidance and perception systems for unmanned and autonomous platforms. Its core application uses drone-captured imagery to deliver real-time situational awareness, leveraging artificial intelligence trained to detect and classify civil and military objects, infrastructure, and personnel. Designed for use in fast-moving operational environments, Alta Ares solutions provide users with immediate, actionable intelligence to support mission-critical decision-making. Learn more at altaares.com.
