Exclusive: Fortem counter-drone kit headed to Middle East and Europe

The latest: Fortem's SkyDome countermeasures will be deployed in protection of military bases and other critical infrastructure, CEO Jon Gruen told Axios.

• "There's no shortage of issues happening, whether it's Russia into Eastern Europe or it's the conflict in Israel or the continuation of the conflict down in Yemen," he said.
• "Drones are the choice of the threat actors today."

Friction point: Gruen declined to say how many systems were bound for each region.

State of play: Fortem, just south of Salt Lake City, can produce hundreds of SkyDome components per month. The company has been approached by governments to hit a rate of thousands per month, according to Gruen.

• "They call on a Friday and say, 'By Monday, send me everything you have on your shelf.' And we did, last week."

• "We build everything in house. All the radars, all the drones, all the effectors, the command-and-control itself. We build all that in Utah."

The intrigue: Fortem's gear has been deployed in Ukraine for three years. It's also been used along the U.S. southern border.

Follow the money: The company is backed by DCVC, Signia Venture Partners and Lockheed Martin's investing arm, among others.

Go deeper: U.S. Army-led task force seeks counter-drone coordination