Sky Spy and Orqa demonstrate portable UAV-based SIGINT system during major NATO exercise with Estonian Defence Forces

Sky Spy and Orqa have partnered to demonstrate a portable UAV-based SIGINT system for the Estonian Defence Forces, integrating Sky Spy’s SkyAgent 001 with Orqa’s lightweight MRM2-10 FPV UAV during Estonia’s largest annual military exercise.

Exercise Spring Storm, which involved more than 12,000 NATO personnel from over 20 nations, saw Sky Spy’s autonomous portable SIGINT system integrated with Orqa’s MRM2-10 platform and used in a simulated electromagnetic attack scenario with Estonia’s 131st Infantry Battalion. The system successfully identified hostile emitters in the exercise area, demonstrating how airborne RF sensing can extend collection range and help units detect emitters beyond the reach of ground-based RF sensors alone.

The demonstration addressed a growing operational problem for military personnel: the modern battlefield is increasingly saturated with RF emitters, including radars, jammers, UAV control stations, and other electronic signatures. Ground-based sensors can be limited by terrain, range and line-of-sight, while legacy SIGINT systems are often too heavy, static or slow to support a fast-moving fight. By placing passive RF sensing on a lightweight UAV, Sky Spy and Orqa demonstrated a deployable way to give soldiers faster awareness of hostile electronic activity beyond their immediate ground picture.

The exercise was shaped by lessons from the war in Ukraine, where the ability to identify ground-based emitters such as control stations of adversary UAVs and jammers has become critical. This is because they now cause 85% of casualties on the modern battlefield. Sky Spy was established to identify the archer, before the arrow is fired.

The testing was hosted by the Estonian Defence Forces’ Force Transformation Command and involved the use of Sky Spy and Orqa’s UAV-based portable SIGINT system in a realistic training environment with Estonian personnel. The activity was designed to identify operational solutions that meet the needs of the Estonian Defence Forces in highly realistic conditions. Sky Spy is now rapidly integrating with world-leading UAV manufacturers through its modular and UAV-agnostic architecture. 

Arsenii Hurtavtsov, CEO at Sky Spy said: “As a company with roots in Estonia, this exercise with Orqa and the Estonian Defence Forces is an important milestone for Sky Spy. It demonstrates the operational relevance of our technology for allied armed forces and shows how lightweight UAVs can become part of a wider spectrum intelligence network. Seeing our system enhance spectrum awareness for Estonian Defence Forces units reinforces our mission to develop interoperable SIGINT systems that can operate across platforms and domains.”

Srdjan Kovacevic, co-founder and CEO at Orqa said: “Working in partnership with Sky Spy, we’ve shown that combining passive RF sensing with our lightweight UAVs is a practical solution to the challenge of gathering intelligence in hostile electromagnetic environments. Orqa is committed to working with leading western players on the creation of third party additions for our latest generation of products specifically designed to support bespoke customer developments. As the largest drone manufacturer in the EU to build both integrated systems and components, we are proud to support the Estonian Defence Forces. Taking part in Exercise Spring Storm gave us an important opportunity to do exactly that, while deepening our understanding of the issues faced by allied armies operating in electronically contested battlespaces.”