Zain Group (“Zain”), a leading Middle Eastern mobile and data services operator headquartered in Kuwait has entered into a Teaming Agreement with DroneShield Ltd (ASX:DRO) (“DroneShield”), a worldwide leader in counterdrone solutions, which will see the companies working together on meeting Zain’s customers’ requirements for counterdrone security solutions in the region.

In October 2018, Zain Group announced the establishment of its Zain Drone entity that will provide Drone-as-a-Service (DaaS) to governments and enterprises in Kuwait, with plans to extend its drone services gradually across its regional footprint. Zain Drone is set to unlock opportunities in various industries to fast-track growth and exploit the Internet of Things (IoT) in an efficient, safer and faster way.

Based in Sydney, Australia, and Virginia, USA, DroneShield is a worldwide leader in drone security technology. The Company has developed the pre-eminent drone security solution that protects people, organisations and critical infrastructure from intrusion from drones. Its leadership brings world-class expertise in engineering and physics, combined with deep experience in defence, intelligence, and aerospace.

Bader Al Kharafi, Zain Vice Chairman and Group CEO commented, “The rise of innovative technology such as Drones also brings a number of risk and liability challenges for governments and industry. Zain has a substantial market penetration in the region with precisely the kind of customers – civil infrastructure operators, airports, governmental bodies and security agencies, and others – that require counterdrone security solutions.”

Al Kharafi added, “We are fielding increasing demand from our customers for comprehensive solutions in this space, and DroneShield’s product range, coupled with our telecommunications expertise, provides exactly what our customers are looking for. Consequently, after an extensive review of the counterdrone market, we opted to enter into a Teaming Agreement with DroneShield.”

Al Kharafi concluded by stating, “As a powerful trusted brand in the Middle East, we are confident that a combination of DroneShield’s cutting edge technologies coupled with our reputation for excellence and market penetration in the region will produce substantial results for both companies.”

Oleg Vornik, DroneShield’s Chief Executive Officer, commented, “The services we have recently provided to a Middle Eastern governmental body has paved the way for a broader effort in the Middle East, and has now established us as the leader in counter unmanned aerial systems space in the region. We are now honored to partner with one of the largest telecoms in the Middle East, whose customer reach in the areas relevant to our business is substantially more extensive than that of any of our past regional relationships.”

Zain Drone has commenced its commercial offering of DroneShield security solutions providing customers with the ability to identify and passively monitor unauthorized drones that threaten safety, security and privacy. This is achieved by using a combination of proprietary multi-sensor detection technologies, an enterprise-grade network, real-time alerts and the collection of digital evidence.

Zain Drone is investing heavily to build the required capabilities in drone operations and is positioning itself to become the leading strategic partner in the fast-developing markets for unmanned data acquisition. Zain Drone as-a-Service (DaaS) is set to unlock opportunities in various industries to fast-track growth and exploit the Internet of Things (IoT) in an efficient, safer and faster way. Zain Drone offers state-of-the art bespoke drone solutions and provide advanced analytics for governments and businesses.