Sensors & EW defence companies in the UK
We track 51 sensors and electronic warfare companies in the UK, most of them in Cambridge and Guildford. 3 of them are hiring now, with 5+ open roles. Among them are Rowden Technologies, Drone Defence and Metis Aerospace.
All Sensors & EW Companies in the UK
Designs and manufactures edge computing, sensing and communications systems for defence, national security and resilience organisations operating in degraded or denied connectivity environments.
Drone Defence develops counter-drone and airspace security systems for protected sites, combining drone detection, tracking, identification and defeat technologies.
Builds radio frequency-based drone detection systems and signals intelligence sensors for airports, military, prisons and critical infrastructure operators.
UK counter-UAS company building HARK acoustic sensors that detect, classify and localise drones with edge processing and passive battlefield acoustic arrays.
Specializes in photonic, laser, fiber-optic and electrical/electronic solutions for aerospace, defence and space harsh environments. Provides high-quality engineered photonic solutions including fiber optic cable assemblies, free space optics, and optical components.
Designs and manufactures electronic-scanning ground-based radar systems for land, coastal and aerial threat surveillance.
Blueprint Subsea develops compact underwater acoustic sensors, imaging sonars, acoustic positioning beacons and diver navigation systems for subsea and defence markets.
UK UAS developer designing, prototyping and manufacturing uncrewed aerial systems, avionics and mission platforms for civil and military customers in contested environments.
UK developer of radar signal processing, tracking and display software used by defence and maritime system integrators, supporting a wide range of modern and legacy radars with hardware-agnostic SDKs. Serves naval, air and security customers worldwide.
UK defence systems company designing electro-optical surveillance, targeting, fire-control and counter-UAS systems for land, maritime and air-defence missions.
Covert surveillance optics spun out of Dstl in 2007, manufacturing intrusive surveillance lenses capable of imaging through pinholes as small as 0.3mm, plus long-range pan-tilt-zoom systems for defence and law enforcement.
Dstl spin-out making SonarBell, an omni-directional passive sonar reflector used for asset and location marking, sonar testing and performance checking. Battery-free with no electronics for underwater defence applications.
Cambridge Radio Frequency Systems designs RF sensors and spectrum-monitoring software for defence and national security, built around the RFeye Node sensor that covers up to 40 GHz. Over 4,600 sensors deployed across 319 organisations on six continents.
Delivers safety-related control, instrumentation and mission systems for UK nuclear facilities and defence platforms across naval, air and land domains.
Domo Tactical Communications develops tactical wireless communications, MANET networking and video links for defence, public safety, unmanned systems and mission-critical operations.
Commercial geospatial intelligence company that applies AI and machine learning to multi-operator satellite imagery to deliver decision-ready insights to industry and government. Selected for the AWS European Defence Accelerator and based in Guildford, Surrey.
Dstl spin-out building Micro ESM electronic support measures sensors that automatically identify and track radar signals. Miniaturised radar detection small enough to be hand-carried or mounted on light UAVs.
Designs and manufactures rugged uncrewed aerial systems for ISR, with platforms proven on Ukraine's frontline and in service with UK armed forces and emergency responders.
Develops GPS-free inertial navigation and flight termination systems for drones and crewed aircraft, including the SnapShot nano-drone funded by a £226,200 DASA contract. ITAR-free UK sovereign capability accredited to ISO 9001.
Forcys develops underwater defence technology, bringing together sonar, maritime sensing and autonomous-system expertise for naval and subsea security missions.
Builds drone-in-a-box systems that let organisations deploy, recover and recharge drones autonomously, with remote mission control from anywhere in the world.
UK radiation detection and shielding manufacturer, co-developer with AWE of the GMS595 gamma dose-rate monitor — the most sensitive gamma monitor available, cutting CBRN response time from two minutes to two seconds.
UK defence technology company building cyber electromagnetic activity, counter-UAS, counter-IED and electronic countermeasure systems for military and security customers.
UK radiation and bio-detection technology company providing CBRN detection, handheld RIIDs, UAV radiation monitoring and security products for defence and homeland security users.
Landguard Systems designs and manufactures specialist ISTAR radio systems, tracking devices and software-defined radios for government, defence and law-enforcement customers.
UK counter-drone company building the Air Intelligence System with PDAR passive RF detection (70 MHz to 6 GHz), Hera long-range cameras, Apollo acoustic direction finding, and Orion autonomous drone defeat effectors. Clients include the British Royal Navy, MOD and Civil Aviation Authority.
Lodestar Space develops autonomous space-security systems for protecting high-value satellites and supporting orbital defence missions.
UK defence supplier providing intelligence collection, communications, electronic warfare, tactical systems and uncrewed systems technology to armed forces and police users.
Metahelios develops highly advanced cameras for defence and space applications using optical metasurfaces. The company is the first and only in the world to design and manufacture metasurface-integrated camera solutions, collaborating with the UK Ministry of Defence on imaging nanotechnologies for surveillance and material classification.
Builds AI-powered airport and national infrastructure security screening products including Deeper Scan electronic-device validation and NexuSec natural-language CCTV search. Developed Deeper Scan with £80,000 DASA funding and Dstl technical support.
UK counter-UAS defence startup developing modular, open-architecture aerospace defence systems with AI-driven drone detection, tracking and layered response capabilities.
Plextek provides advanced engineering and technology development for defence applications, including sensing, communications and mission-critical electronics.
Scotland-based defence AI company with the Deep Truth machine learning framework, the SkySpyke 360-degree passive counter-drone detection system, the WiSAD passive RF surveillance detector and the MASC AI-generated adaptive camouflage pattern generator.
Raptor Photonics designs and manufactures specialist CCD, CMOS, SWIR and VIS-SWIR camera systems for surveillance, space, scientific and industrial OEM applications.
Lancaster-based secure communications and detection specialist delivering voice, data and real-time connectivity systems for defence, emergency response and critical infrastructure.
Roke builds defence and security technologies across AI, autonomy, cyber, secure communications and electromagnetic-spectrum operations.
Scanna MSC develops portable security X-ray systems and mailroom screening equipment for counter-terrorism, law-enforcement, defence and EOD threat-detection applications.
Laser-based shot detection and positioning system for military rifles, enabling instant sniper location identification. DASA-funded.
Develops high-precision MEMS inertial and gravity sensors for navigation, aerospace, defence, and subsurface exploration applications.
Sirius Insight develops AI-enabled maritime surveillance and decision-support systems for monitoring coastal, port and offshore environments.
Slipstream Design develops advanced RF and digital signal processing systems for defence, security, telecommunications, and space. Their flagship ASTRO platform is an ultra-wideband adaptive radio processor delivering resilient sensing and communication technology for mission-critical operations in contested electromagnetic environments.
UK space domain awareness startup delivering real-time optical space intelligence from a sensor network and AI-driven platform for governments and satellite operators.
UK tactical communications company building secure, resilient and deployable communications systems including SlingShot and GENSS for modern battlespace users.
SPX Communication Technologies develops spectrum monitoring, tactical COMINT, RF jamming, maritime RDF and counter-UAS capabilities for defence and security environments.
UK counter-UAV manufacturer producing the NightFighter family of portable and vehicle-mounted RF jammers, effective against UAVs at ranges beyond 5 km and certified to UK Defence Standards. Systems are in operational service with military and security forces across multiple jurisdictions.
Sovereign drone intelligence platform providing defence-grade autonomous BVLOS operations, multi-sensor capture and analytics for critical infrastructure and defence. Raised £8.3m seed in November 2025 led by Rokos Capital Management.
Tactical Wireless develops secure resilient communications systems for remote and poorly connected locations, including military and police support applications.
Teleplan Forsberg delivers assured positioning, navigation and timing systems for mission-critical aerospace, defence, marine, security and space operations.
UK covert audio surveillance startup spun out of Dstl via Ploughshare. Its directional microphone arrays use patented acoustic shield signal processing for long-range intelligibility in noisy environments, aimed at law enforcement and intelligence users.
Thermoteknix develops infrared thermal imaging, night-vision and augmented-reality vision systems for defence, security, aerospace and industrial users.
ZeroUSV designs, builds and operates autonomous uncrewed surface vessels for defence, security, survey and scientific offshore missions.
