Read more about our portfolio company, Hidden Level.
----
Syracuse, NY — The Department of War today awarded Hidden Level, a world leader in passive radar, radio frequency (RF) detection, and distributed sensing for airspace and spectrum awareness, a $100M Other Transaction Authority (OTA) contract to deliver cutting edge capabilities in the counter-unmanned aircraft systems (C-UAS) fight.
“This award is an important step to delivering our critically needed technology to see without being seen,” said Jeff Cole, Founder and CEO of Hidden Level. “It represents years of performance in operational environments and the Department’s commitment to deploy C-UAS solutions for the warfighter. Hidden Level is ready to meet the moment with our proven sensing technology that enables the detection, tracking and identification of escalating drone threats, especially from RF-silent drones. We are scaling production and ready to support national security at speed.”
“Hidden Level's passive radar distinguished itself as a top-performing sensing capability at Technology Readiness Experimentation (T-REX 25.2)," said Dr. Mike Tran, Director of Prototyping, Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of War for Prototyping and Experimentation (ODASW(P&E)). “This OTA award gives us an important mechanism to keep maturing, evaluating, and transitioning advanced sensing into operational use. The technology addresses real operational needs across the Department and reflects the kind of innovation we need to get mission-relevant capability to the warfighter faster.”
Hidden Level was awarded the OTA to directly and rapidly provide its hardware, software, and Airspace Monitoring Service (AMS) across the Department. The award comes at a time when the need for cost-effective, real-time, and long-range passive sensing has accelerated due to the proliferation of increasingly sophisticated UAS threats across the world.
Office of the Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering (OUSW(R&E)), through the Army Contracting Command, Rock Island (ACC-RI), issued the OTA following the Hidden Level’s successful operational performance across multiple testing and evaluation events, including being named ‘Top Performer’ through the Defense Innovation Unit’s (DIU) Low-Cost Sensing Challenge.
As part of this effort with OUSW(R&E) and ACC-RI, Hidden Level will deploy its multi-function RF sensor technology to detect, track, and identify crewed and uncrewed aircraft over military installations, test ranges, and the U.S. border. Via this OTA, U.S. military customers can engage Hidden Level directly to conduct rapid prototyping, integrate new technologies, and produce and deliver sensor systems at scale.
Hidden Level’s hardware and software products, including BREAKER, SURGE, BYOTx, and AMS are designed and manufactured in Syracuse, NY utilizing a U.S.-based supply chain. When deployed, the sensors provide persistent airspace security and awareness by detecting RF energy, as well as RF-silent aircraft, without transmitting energy. This allows the sensors to ‘Hide in Plain Sight’ while performing their mission. Additionally, Hidden Level’s systems are built on an open architecture framework, enabling seamless data integration with existing command and control systems and next-generation airspace monitoring platforms.
Beyond supporting C-UAS missions, Hidden Level’s passive sensing technology provides a scalable foundation for broader airspace and spectrum awareness. Its infrastructure has been deployed for defense, homeland security, and critical infrastructure applications.
