AEye to Work with Swiftstrike AI to Integrate STRATOS™ Lidar to Extend Counter-UAS Detection Against Smaller, Faster Drone Threats

Collaboration with Swedish defense technology company extends AEye’s software-defined lidar into the fast-growing counter-drone market, building on the Company’s expanding defense vertical

PLEASANTON, Calif. & STOCKHOLM--(BUSINESS WIRE)--AEye, Inc. (Nasdaq: LIDR), a global leader in software-defined, high-performance lidar solutions, and AB Swiftstrike AI, a Swedish defense technology company building autonomous and scalable defense systems for Counter-Unmanned Aircraft System (“counter-UAS”) and Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR), today announced that they will cooperate on the development and integration of AEye’s ultra-long-range lidar, into Swiftstrike’s C-UAS systems. The collaboration pairs Swiftstrike’s autonomous, multi-sensor, kinetic counter-UAS platform with AEye’s STRATOS™ lidar sensor as an ultra-long-range detection layer, with the goal of providing defense and security customers earlier, more reliable detection of small drone threats.

“You cannot defeat what you cannot see, and drones are getting harder to spot every year,” said Matt Fisch, Chairman and CEO of AEye. “STRATOS™ was built to detect the smallest objects at very long ranges, and that is exactly what counter-UAS demands: resolve a small, low-signature airframe at distance, in three dimensions, early enough to decide and act. Swiftstrike brings a modular, counter-UAS platform and the autonomy stack to turn that detection into a decision. Together we have an opportunity to help counter-UAS keep pace with drone technology instead of chasing it.”

“Our customers face continuously evolving drone threats,” said Karl Murray, Swiftstrike CEO. “Adding AEye’s ultra-long-range, software-defined lidar to our sensing layer extends the range at which we can detect and classify small aerial targets, while preserving the modular, open architecture our customers require.”

Counter-UAS Market and Threat Landscape

This collaboration extends AEye’s position in the global counter-UAS market. Fortune Business Insights projects this market to grow from approximately $14.4 billion in 2026 to approximately $55.3 billion by 2034.

Drones used against military, government, and critical-infrastructure targets are getting smaller, cheaper, and more autonomous. A growing share flies without a live radio link, which limits the effectiveness of the radio-frequency detection that many counter-drone systems rely on today. This evolution of UAS is pushing the industry toward detection methods, like lidar, that don’t depend on picking up a drone’s radio signal, and toward systems that can spot a small aircraft from farther away and with enough precision to act on it. AEye and Swiftstrike believe pairing long-range lidar detection with Swiftstrike’s counter-UAS platform and autonomy software addresses that gap.

STRATOS™ Advantage

STRATOS™ is AEye’s third-generation lidar sensor and is designed to detect objects at up to 1.5 kilometers with more than twice the resolution of AEye’s existing Apollo™ sensor, in a package not much larger than a smartphone. In practical terms, that combination of range and resolution is what allows STRATOS™ to pick out a small drone at a distance where other sensors may only be able to indicate that something is there, providing the kind of precise, three-dimensional track – distance, height, and speed – that helps an operator confirm a real threat and decide how to respond.

About AEye, Inc.

AEye offers a suite of unique software-defined lidar solutions that address a wide range of real-world needs including advanced driver-assistance, vehicle autonomy, smart infrastructure, security, defense, and logistics applications. AEye’s flagship product, Apollo™, has been widely recognized for its small form factor and its ability to detect objects at up to one kilometer. In addition to Apollo™, AEye also offers STRATOS™ with the ability to detect objects at up to one-and-a-half kilometers as well as a full-stack solution through its OPTIS™ platform. OPTIS™ provides a complete system that captures a high-resolution 3D image of the world, interprets it, and provides direction to act upon what it sees in real time.

About Swiftstrike

Swiftstrike AI is a Swedish defense technology company that develops portable, autonomous and modular counter-drone (C-UAS) and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) systems. Swiftstrike’s C-UAS systems detect, track, and neutralize small and medium-sized drones using multimodal sensors and kinetic effectors at a very low cost per engagement. Swiftstrike AI works with defense organizations, system integrators, and partner companies across NATO and allied nations.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements included in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws, including the safe harbor provisions under the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are sometimes accompanied by words such as "believe," "continue," "project," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "intend," "strategy," "future," "opportunity," "predict," "plan," "may," "should," "will," "would," "potential," "seem," "seek," "outlook," and similar expressions that predict or indicate future events or trends, or that are not statements of historical matters. Forward-looking statements are predictions, projections, and other statements about future events that are based on current expectations and assumptions and, as a result, are subject to risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements included in this press release include statements about the planned development and integration of AEye's STRATOS™ lidar into Swiftstrike's counter-UAS systems; the anticipated benefits of the collaboration, including earlier and more reliable detection and classification of small drone threats; the capabilities, range, and resolution of STRATOS™, including in counter-UAS applications; the evolution of drone threats and the anticipated adoption of lidar-based detection in counter-UAS systems; third-party projections regarding the size and growth of the counter-UAS market; and the expansion of AEye's defense vertical and its position in the counter-UAS market, among others. These statements are based on various assumptions, whether or not identified in this press release. These forward-looking statements are provided for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to serve as and must not be relied on by an investor as a guarantee, an assurance, a prediction, or a definitive statement of fact or probability. Actual events and circumstances are very difficult or impossible to predict and will differ from the assumptions. Many actual events and circumstances are beyond the control of AEye. Many factors could cause actual future events to differ from the forward-looking statements in this press release, including, but not limited to: (i) the risks that the collaboration may not result in the successful development, integration, or commercial deployment of STRATOS™ in Swiftstrike's counter-UAS systems in the time frame anticipated, or at all; (ii) the risks that the collaboration may not result in orders, production programs, or revenue for AEye; (iii) the risks that STRATOS™ may not detect, track, or classify small aerial targets at the ranges, resolution, or reliability anticipated, or at all, particularly in real-world counter-UAS operating conditions; (iv) the risks that the counter-UAS market may not grow to the extent projected by Fortune Business Insights or other third parties, or at all, and the risks inherent in third-party market projections, which are based on assumptions that may prove incorrect and which AEye has not independently verified; (v) the risks that lidar may not be adopted as a detection method for counter-UAS applications to the extent anticipated, or at all; (vi) the risks associated with sales into the defense and security sectors, including dependence on government budgets, procurement cycles, and the award of contracts to Swiftstrike and its customers; (vii) the risks that either party may terminate, or may fail to perform its obligations under, the collaboration; (viii) the risks that export control, sanctions, and other trade laws and regulations of the United States, Sweden, the European Union, or other jurisdictions, or delays in obtaining any required governmental authorizations, could restrict, delay, or prohibit the development, integration, sale, or export of the parties' products or related technology; (ix) the risks that AEye's products may not meet the diverse range of performance and functional requirements of target markets and customers; (x) the risks that AEye's products may not function as anticipated by AEye, or by target markets and customers; (xi) the risks that laws and regulations are adopted impacting the use of lidar that AEye is unable to comply with, in whole or in part; (xii) the risks associated with changes in competitive and regulated industries in which AEye operates, variations in operating performance across competitors, and changes in laws and regulations affecting AEye's business; (xiii) the risks that AEye is unable to adequately implement its business plans, forecasts, and other expectations, and identify and realize additional opportunities; and (xiv) the risks of economic downturns and a changing regulatory landscape in the highly competitive and evolving industry in which AEye operates. These risks and uncertainties may be amplified by current or future global conflicts and current and potential trade restrictions, trade tensions, and tariffs, all of which continue to cause economic uncertainty. You should carefully consider the foregoing factors and the other risks and uncertainties described in the "Risk Factors" section of the periodic report that AEye has most recently filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC, and other documents filed by us or that will be filed by us from time to time with the SEC. These filings identify and address other important risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events and results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made.

Investors are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements; AEye assumes no obligation and does not intend to update or revise these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. AEye gives no assurance that AEye will achieve any of its expectations.