The Power Within: The Kyiv Independent’s first-ever magazine. Be among the first to get it.

pre-order now
Skip to content
Edit post

Ukrainian defense tech company Huless raises over $1 million for tethered drone systems

by Yana Prots January 30, 2025 9:10 PM 2 min read
A Huless tethered drone system. (Brave1/LinkedIn)
This audio is created with AI assistance

Huless, a Ukrainian company developing tethered drone systems, secured over $1 million in private financing, loans, and a grant from Ukrainian Defense Tech cluster Brave1, the company said in a press release on Jan. 30.

Huless makes the Highline-T, a drone that can operate for up to four hours at heights up to 100 meters, even without GPS signals, the company says. Unlike kamikaze or bomber drones that blow up Russian positions or vehicles, the Highline-T’s main function is extending the range of communications.

The tethered drone stays connected to the ground via a cable that provides constant power and data connection independent of interference from electronic warfare.

Huless plans to use the funding to expand its market presence and develop its tethered drone technology for military communications, the company said. The drones will serve as mobile aerial antennas, improving the range and safety of military operations.

The private backers include angel investors the Huless team met at Defense Tech Valley, the largest investment summit on Ukrainian defense innovations organized by Brave1.

The “investments will be directed toward creating an ecosystem of military communications, where the key component will be Highline-T tethered drones developed by Huless,” Brave1 wrote on LinkedIn.

“We are already creating technologies that no other country has. Therefore, investment in Ukrainian defense tech is a contribution to the defense capability of not only Ukraine but also NATO,” said Mykhailo Fedorov, whose Digital Transformation Ministry heads Brave1, in a post announcing the investment.

Ukraine builds drone parts at home as China weaponizes supply chain
Some 25 miles south of Ukraine’s border with Russia, explosions rumble off in the distance more or less continuously. “We don’t even hear them anymore,” Zhenya chuckles from under first-person-view (FPV) goggles branded with the U.S. company “Fat Shark.” Zhenya and his co-developer for DragoDrones…

News Feed

8:06 AM  (Updated: )

Zelensky visits South Africa but cuts trip short after mass Russian strike.

"We count on South Africa’s meaningful participation in the International Coalition for the return of thousands of Ukrainian children abducted by Russia. We will also certainly strengthen our cultural and educational ties," President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
5:30 AM

Trump says he may meet Putin 'shortly' after May Middle East visit.

Despite ongoing ceasefire negotiations, Trump and Putin have yet to have direct contact, communicating only through their officials. Trump's last in-person encounter with his Russian counterpart was during the 2018 Helsinki Summit during the U.S. president's first term.
8:08 PM

Ukrainians react to US proposal of recognizing Crimea as Russian.

The U.S. media outlet Axios reported on April 23 that the U.S. President Donald Trump administration's final proposal for ending the Russia-Ukraine war included the U.S. de jure recognizing Russia's annexation of Crimea and de facto recognizing its control of other occupied Ukrainian territories. We asked Kyiv residents for their reactions to the U.S. proposal.
7:21 PM  (Updated: )

Trump says 'nobody is asking' Ukraine to recognize Crimea as Russian.

"Nobody is asking (President Volodymyr) Zelensky to recognize Crimea as Russian Territory, but if he wants Crimea, why didn’t they fight for it eleven years ago when it was handed over to Russia without a shot being fired?" U.S. President Donald Trump wrote.
MORE NEWS

Editors' Picks

Enter your email to subscribe
Please, enter correct email address
Subscribe
* indicates required
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required

Subscribe

* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Explaining Ukraine with Kate Tsurkan
* indicates required
Successfuly subscribed
Thank you for signing up for this newsletter. We’ve sent you a confirmation email.