Balerion Principal Aidan Daoussis sits down with Grant Jordan, Founder & CEO of SkySafe, to discuss drone tracking and airspace awareness. SkySafe builds persistent sensor networks across cities to detect, identify, and track drone activity for government, public safety, critical infrastructure, and commercial customers. Its platform combines RF sensing and networked data to distinguish authorized activity from potential threats and provide a foundational awareness layer for increasingly crowded airspace.
00:00 – Introduction and overview of SkySafe’s drone tracking and airspace awareness platform
02:39 – Drone threats beyond explosives, including surveillance and prison smuggling
07:44 – Detecting, identifying, and responding to unauthorized drone activity
11:48 – Drone swarms, battlefield developments, and today’s operational realities
13:42 – Airspace coordination, electronic conspicuity, and safely integrating drones with manned aviation
16:58 – SkySafe’s citywide sensor network and infrastructure model
20:01 – Building a foundational airspace data layer through APIs and platform integrations
21:15 – Detection challenges in RF-denied environments and the evolution of drone technology
25:20 – Autonomy, stealth, surveillance, and common misconceptions about drone security
29:26 – RF sensing, radar, optical, and acoustic detection trade-offs
33:34 – Government, commercial, critical infrastructure, and public safety customers
36:28 – Difficult detection environments and the importance of sensor placement
39:32 – Counter-UAS options and the trade-offs of jamming, interception, and kinetic response
42:46 – Deterrence, operator accountability, and enforcing drone regulations
46:06 – Risk reduction, incident response, and post-event drone forensics
48:12 – Commercial uses of drones, SkySafe’s impact, and closing takeaways
