How Monopulse Is Building Secure European Drones for Allied Forces
Supporting a European Supply Chain for Tactical Surveillance Drones
Povilas Žinys
Building Secure Tactical Surveillance Drones for Defense and Law Enforcement
Monopulse builds secure tactical drones for defense and law enforcement customers from offices in Lithuania and Denmark. Its UAVs handle reconnaissance and surveillance, and a hybrid UAV/USV drone handles aerial and underwater inspection.
Monopulse designs and builds more than 90% of its drone systems in-house. Every external critical component traces back to a trusted supplier in an allied country. Mission data stays on the aircraft, with no external cloud connection required, so operators control what leaves the drone.
The drones are built for the field. Crews can quickly repair and swap modular parts, and the aircraft keep flying through GPS and control-link jamming. Monopulse develops them with military and law enforcement users and aims to become Europe’s leading maker of tactical surveillance drones.
Monopulse has raised more than $2 million to date from Plug and Play, CoInvest Capital, NGL Ventures, and LitBAN business angels. The company joined Plug and Play through the Startup Lithuania Accelerator. The investment reflects our focus on defense tech and dual-use companies.
Why Is This Problem Significant, & How Large Is Its Impact?
Drones have become a core tool for reconnaissance, targeting, and situational awareness in modern warfare. Many Western and allied militaries can’t rely on widely available Chinese-made commercial drones. Their concerns include supply-chain security, data sovereignty, and dependence on suppliers outside allied countries.
The market is large and growing. Tactical ISR (intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance) drones are moving from specialized equipment to standard gear for tactical units.
Buying more drones doesn’t solve the problem on its own. Allied forces need systems with a traceable supply chain, data that stays under operator control, and navigation that works under GPS jamming and spoofing. Commercial platforms often can’t offer that. Monopulse builds it in from the start, designing and manufacturing in Denmark and Lithuania, with most of the core technology and IP developed internally.
Meet the Team Behind Monopulse
Led by co-founders Justas Poderys and Alexander Vesterhauge, the 14-person team covers systems engineering, electronics, mechanical and aerospace engineering, and firmware and software, all in-house. Former military officers on the team bring first-hand knowledge of user needs, command structures, and deployment conditions. Several members keep active academic affiliations, which ties Monopulse to universities and research institutions.
Founder & CEO
“We operate in a dynamic defense technology sector where technologies are evolving rapidly and customers demand secure manufacturing and resilient supply chains. This investment will enable us to scale our production capacity while ensuring that our customers receive our products quickly and on schedule.”
Why We’re Excited to Invest
Defense customers across Europe and allied countries need tactical drones they can trust. Monopulse builds more than 90% of its systems in-house, traces every critical component to suppliers in allied countries, and keeps mission data on the aircraft. Its drones keep flying through GPS and control-link jamming, and crews can repair them in the field.
The team pairs engineers from every core discipline with former military officers, so the product reflects how forces actually use drones. We met Monopulse through the Startup Lithuania Accelerator and are glad to back it as it scales production.
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