US firms are stepping up collaboration to embed AI threat detection into drone systems.

Safe Pro Group has partnered with drone manufacturers Ondas Holdings and Unusual Machines to integrate its AI-powered imagery analysis and computer vision tech into their unmanned systems.

At the center of the partnership is Safe Pro Object Threat Detection (SPOTD), a tool trained to recognize more than 150 types of concealed threats, from landmines and cluster munitions to unexploded ordnance.

Ondas will fold the tech into its autonomous drones for defense, security, and critical infrastructure, targeting customers such as the US Department of Defense and NATO partners.

Unusual Machines will adapt SPOTD for its first-person view drones, fusing detection data with its Aura Cameras and HDO+ Goggles to deliver sharper real-time intelligence for enterprise and government users.

“Collectively, we can start to export this technology and bring much needed US-produced drone and AI technologies to the global market,” stated Dr. Allan Evans, CEO of Unusual Machines.

Enhancing Threat Detection

Safe Pro’s threat detection system runs either locally through the SPOTD NODE for on-the-spot analysis or in the cloud via its SpotlightAI platform hosted on Amazon Web Services.

Already tested in Ukraine, the AI tech has processed more than 1.78 million drone images and GPS-tagged geospatial datasets, identifying over 31,600 threats across nearly 8,000 hectares (19,768 acres) of land.

“Our goal is to see the American drone ecosystem emerge as a global powerhouse,” Evans noted. “Collaboration amongst companies like ours and Safe Pro is a key step toward us collectively achieving that goal.”