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 Patented 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 patented 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.

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.

▲

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

Ready to see the full technical package? Send an email and we'll respond within one business day with the quad chart PDF, system specifications, and availability for a live brief.

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