Echodyne

Echodyne

Echodyne designs and builds compact, solid-state radars in Kirkland, Washington. Its radars detect and track small drones, and most of them are sold to other companies, which build them into their own counter-drone and security systems. Echodyne says its customers include system suppliers, integrators and end users in more than 40 countries, in defence, government, critical infrastructure and drone-traffic markets.

Eben Frankenberg, a co-founder, is chief executive; Tom Driscoll is chief technology officer. Its board includes partners from Madrona Venture Group, NEA, Intellectual Ventures and Vanedge Capital, the company’s website shows.

Key Products

The radars use an antenna design Echodyne patented, the metamaterials electronically scanned array (MESA). The radar steers its beam electronically, and the company says the design uses standard materials and manufacturing processes, bringing down the cost of high-performance radar. Its product lines are EchoGuard, EchoShield and EchoFlight.

Echodyne’s website shows its radars on systems from Chess Dynamics, EOS Defense Systems, OpenWorks Engineering and others. Shield AI’s announcement of 5 November 2026 says the radars are built onto remote weapon stations, high-energy lasers and high-power microwave systems, and cue interceptors toward incoming drones. Civilian users protect stadiums and airports with them.

Business and Funding

Echodyne is private and does not publish revenue. In September 2026 the US Army gave it a three-year counter-drone contract with a $250 million ceiling, one of ten for the Pentagon’s counter-drone task force, JIATF-401. A ceiling is the most the government may spend, not an order.

It recently opened an 86,350-square-foot factory in Kirkland, a $40 million investment that the companies say can build about 30,000 radars a year.

On 5 November 2026 Shield AI agreed to buy Echodyne in a deal it values at $5.3 billion: $4.8 billion at closing and up to $500 million more if Echodyne meets performance targets. The deal is expected to close in early 2027, subject to regulatory approval. Echodyne will join Shield AI’s mission systems unit, with its radars still sold as standalone products and Frankenberg reporting to Shield AI’s chief executive, Gary Steele.

Why It Matters

Echodyne is a supplier more than a system maker: its radar is the sensor inside other companies’ counter-drone products. That is why the sale reaches well beyond the two companies. After closing, those integrators will buy a core part from a company that also builds drones.

The figures that support the price are mostly company statements. Both companies say they expect triple-digit revenue growth this fiscal year without giving revenue, and the factory’s 30,000-radar capacity is a stated capability, not a production record.