WASP

Warfighter Autonomous Strike Platform

Soldier-portable. Non-kinetic. Lethal to swarms.

~1.8 kg Total System Weight
TRL 3 Technology Readiness
~$0 Per Engagement (post-procurement)
4 Patent-Pending Innovations
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The Threat

Dismounted Forces Have No Organic Counter-Drone Capability

The UAS Swarm Crisis

  • Adversaries deploy $500 commercial drones against U.S. forces
  • Group 1–3 UAS swarms overwhelm kinetic interceptor stockpiles
  • Cost exchange ratio: 60:1 favoring the adversary
  • Ukraine conflict: kinetic interceptor stocks exhausted within weeks

The Capability Gap

  • Current systems (Coyote, M-SHORAD) require vehicle mounting or fixed radar infrastructure
  • Dismounted ARSOF and infantry squads have NO organic non-kinetic counter-drone capability
  • Kinetic interceptors cost $20,000–$40,000 per shot — unsustainable at scale
  • No fielded system provides cryptographic IFF fratricide prevention as Blue Force UAS density grows
The Solution

WASP — Directional EMP. No Vehicle. No Radar. No Infrastructure.

WASP defeats drone swarms using patent-pending directional EMP technology. A soldier carries the full system. No logistics tail required.

01

Directional EMP Payload

Parabolic copper reflector concentrates energy on target. 350V / 26.9J pulse. >100 dB rearward attenuation — no friendly-fire radiation risk.

02

Rolling HMAC IFF Fratricide Gate

Hardware-level cryptographic friend-or-foe identification. The pulse physically cannot fire if a friendly signal is detected. No software override possible.

03

Adaptive Proportional Navigation

Gain auto-tuned by drone model type. 23–35% improvement in intercept probability over fixed-gain guidance systems.

04

Cost-Matrix Swarm Allocator

Autonomous multi-target prioritization. No operator input required during swarm engagement. Handles simultaneous threats across azimuth and altitude.

WASP ground station HUD concept showing tactical map, swarm status, and alert feed with simulated data
Ground station HUD — concept demonstration with simulated data. Autonomous swarm status, threat tracks, and ISR contacts on a single operator display.
Weight~1.8 kg (full system)
Payload8 MAVs per tube
EMP Recharge~10 seconds
Prototype Unit Cost~$3,988
Per-Engagement Cost~$0 (reusable)
Guidance States8-state autonomous machine
Applications

Built for the Dismounted Warfighter — Scales to Any Threat Environment

▲

ARSOF / Infantry Organic C-UAS

Dismounted squad carries full capability. No vehicle, no external radar, no logistics chain.

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FOB / Perimeter Defense

No fixed radar infrastructure required. Deploy anywhere in minutes.

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Urban Operations

No debris. No shrapnel. No collateral damage risk. EMP defeat — not kinetic fragmentation.

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GPS-Degraded / Comms-Denied

Fully autonomous guidance. Operates without GPS, external comms, or network connectivity.

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High Blue Force UAS Density

Rolling HMAC IFF prevents fratricide as friendly UAS density increases across multi-domain operations.

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Cost-Sustainable Attrition

Near-$0 per engagement after procurement. Reverses the 60:1 adversary cost advantage.

Development Status

Current Readiness Levels

TRL 3
Technical Readiness
Analytical and experimental proof of concept. Component testing in progress.
April 2026
MRL 3
Manufacturing Readiness
Manufacturing proof of concept developed. Bill of materials defined.
April 2026
IRL 2
Integration Readiness
System interfaces fully specified: EMP payload, MAV guidance, ground station.
April 2026

Development Roadmap

Apr 2026 TRL 1–3 | Concept & Design Complete Full system design Rev 2.0 complete. Provisional patent filed. Algorithms tested.
Jun 2027 TRL 4 | Phase I SBIR Target — Component Validation Laboratory validation of EMP payload, guidance system, and IFF gate.
Jun 2028 TRL 5 | Relevant Environment Validation
Dec 2028 TRL 6 | Prototype Demonstration
2030–2033 TRL 7–9 | System Qualification & Production

Registrations & Eligibility

✓ SAM.gov Active
✓ SBIR Eligible
✓ Small Business
✓ Veteran-Owned
✓ DSIP Registered
✓ Non-Traditional Defense Contractor
✓ CMMC Level 1 Compliant
✓ eSOF FY2026 Submitted
UEI: X84GR2FAVN19  |  CAGE: 20QZ2  |  SBC: SBC_002677729  |  NAICS: 336414 (Primary)
About

Sanders Air Defense LLC

Sanders Air Defense LLC is a Murfreesboro, Tennessee-based defense technology company founded to develop and field next-generation autonomous counter-UAS systems for U.S. Special Operations and dismounted infantry forces.

WASP was designed from first principles to solve a specific, urgent gap: dismounted warfighters have no organic, non-kinetic solution against drone swarms. Every design decision — weight, reusability, autonomous IFF — flows directly from that operational requirement.

We are an SBIR-eligible small business actively seeking Phase I funding and U.S. Special Operations Command engagement to accelerate prototype development and field testing.

Point of Contact

Keith Sanders

Founder & Principal Investigator

keith@sandersairdefense.com (615) 410-6863 Murfreesboro, Tennessee
Provisional Patent Filed Apr 2026 Active SAM.gov SBIR Eligible
Contact

Request a Capability Brief

Whether you represent a DoD program office, SOCOM command, or research laboratory — we welcome the conversation. WASP is ready for technical review.

Email keith@sandersairdefense.com
Phone (615) 410-6863
Platforms vulcan-sof.com (eSOF FY2026)
sbir.gov | SAM.gov

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