Askari Defen

Askari Defense is an Atlanta-based counter-drone defense company building low-cost, fully autonomous man-portable interceptors that make robotic attacks economically unaffordable to launch. Founded in 2024 by CEO Robbie van Zyl, a Georgia Tech aerospace graduate and competitive drone racer, alongside co-founders Marc van Zyl and Benjamin Airdo, Askari grew out of Georgia Tech's CREATE-X startup accelerator. Its flagship systems, Rift Alpha and Rift Bravo, are hand-launched, fully autonomous, 3D-printed interceptors designed to detect, track, and neutralize hostile drones in real time, distinguishing threats from people or the surrounding environment. Askari says its autonomy stack is 80-90% auto-generated from real-world flight data, letting it field new hardware and software in 2-4 weeks versus the traditional defense industry's 3-5 years, and the company already works with U.S. Department of Defense customers.