The Leader in Modern Airspace Safety & Security: Fortem Technologies

Fortem Technologies, Inc. is delivering an AI-powered, highly cost-effective, incrementally scalable air and ground defense and intelligence system for any venue from a single building to an entire metro.

Fortem detects and helps defeat criminal and terrorist actions (smuggling, theft, espionage, prison infiltration, attacks on critical infrastructure, sabotage, and mass casualty attempts) whether the attempt is by drone, by truck, or by human wave.

Fortem is powered by its self-networking, 360-degree, multi-km range TrueView radar that is less than 1.5 lbs., run on less power than an LED streetlight and can track thousands of objects smaller than a Coke can simultaneously at high velocities.

Upon detecting a threat, typically in less than 1/8th of a second, Fortem systems then dispatch security resources, including fleets of Fortem DroneHunter™ hunter-killer drones, fully autonomous *over the horizon* and guided by Fortem’s TrueView radar on board, capable of defeating threats from hostile drones, terrorist vehicles or individual hostile elements without any risk to civilians.

Based in Salt Lake City, UT, the company is privately held and backed by Signia Venture Partners and Data Collective. Fortem delivers products to enable safe manned and unmanned aircraft operations in a drone world. Fortem Technologies’ proven solutions allow organizations to transition their unmanned aircraft operations beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) as well as protect their most precious resources from threats in the air.

While enabling a more convenient and productive world through innovative drone capabilities, Fortem is also providing a leading modern air defense system for all of us to live in a drone world with increased safety and security.

Building a Fortress, One Brick at a Time

TrueView R20 is a breakthrough AI-enabled radar platform and is at the core of Fortem’s technology strategy. TrueView might be the world’s most compact and powerful radar solution. TrueView is the key foundational technology that also enables the Fortem DroneHunter ™.

Fortem secured multiple government contracts almost immediately after rolling out TrueView R20, early last year. Furthermore, it has received orders from a number of Fortune 100 companies for partnership and investment. Another validation for the company is that the FAA has prioritized radar as the key enabling technology for Detect and Avoid (DAA) capabilities and BVLOS operations as well as for developing a safe and secure airspace.

Fortem’s Brainchild

Fortem’s TrueView R20 radar is the next generation of small, light and compact radar designed for high volume, high reliability, and mission-critical detect and avoid operations. TrueView R20 is derived from a hardened radar technology used in the US Department of Defense drone program for the past six years. Fortem TrueView R20 provides aircraft integrators the capability to quickly and easily detect objects from the air at long range to avoid manned aircraft or other non-cooperative objects such as birds or other drones. Optional modules allow for complete end-to-end integration for tracking, classification, command and control and pre-integrated autopilots.

Pioneering in Robotics Industry

Using advanced Artificial Intelligence and proprietary software solutions, Fortem has created a software platform which gathers real-time airspace data to provide situational awareness for flying robots and manned aircraft so they can perform their function safely. Fortem’s ability to aggregate airspace data into a platform enables BVLOS operations to accelerate the drone revolution.

Products to Hit The Market

The company has recently announced the Fortem DroneHunter™. Fortem DroneHunter is the world’s first fully autonomous counter-UAS (C-UAS) drone robot that uses radar to patrol a geo-marked airspace to remove rogue or malicious drones day and night. DroneHunter will detect, alert, classify and remediate unwanted UAS in “restricted” or “no-fly zones” such as near (or around) airports, prisons, stadiums, datacenters, and other critical infrastructure and public gatherings. DroneHunter is equipped with TrueView radar and a capture net-gun or drape net. When an intruder drone is discovered, DroneHunter can engage autonomously, analyze the threat, and if needed, tow away the target drone safely at altitude and at a safe stand-off distance from the site being monitored. DroneHunter operates day or night, and in all weather conditions including smog, fog, and smoke.

The Future is Bright

Fortem Technologies stands at the beginning of a $1B opportunity. For example, there are 18,000 police agencies in the US, 9,000 with over 25 officers. The company sees these agencies adopting Fortem DroneHunter, effectively policing no-fly zones in their community in a safe and cost-effective manner. Fortem’s technology is also an enabler in autonomous “air taxis” as Uber and others expand its transportation expectations to use the airspace above us to transport people as well as packages in the near future. And finally, robotics, especially flying robots, need Fortem TrueView Radar to expand the applicant scope beyond the ideas currently envisioned. Fortem will absolutely be a major part of the drone and robotics revolution.

Business Insider’s Business Intelligence Group predicts sales of drones to surpass $12 billion in 2021, which is up by a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.6% from $8.5 billion in 2016. Consumer drone shipments are expected to reach 29 million by 2021 and commercial drones are expected to reach nearly a million in 2021.

The Visionaries behind The Vision

Timothy Bean, Co-Founder, and CEO: Tim currently oversees the corporate direction and strategy for Fortem Technologies, responsible for all aspects of sales, product and service creation, delivery and customer support. Before setting up Fortem Technologies, Tim worked for many years in engineering and more recently, in sales. His focus has been on cyber-defense and large-scale deployments of mission-critical infrastructure applications for governments and globally dispersed enterprises. Tim earned his B.S. in Design Engineering, a combination of mechanical engineering and computer science, from BYU.

Adam Robertson, Co-Founder, and CTO: Adam joined the company from IMSAR LLC, where he played an integral technical role in growing the company to more than 100 employees. Along with securing more than $125 million in contracts, most recently, Adam served as vice president of engineering at IMSAR, driving the innovation of a 60-person engineering team focused on building the world’s smallest, highest resolution and most robust radar solutions in the world for many drone programs with the United States Department of Defense. Adam holds an M.S. in electrical engineering and an MBA from BYU.

“In a drone world, we provide the most sophisticated AI-based airspace security and safety solutions on the planet.”