Drone attack at Leipzig/Halle Airport underscores threat as INLEAP Photonics raises €20 million for drone defence

Hannover-based DeepTech company INLEAP Photonics has closed a €20 million Seed funding round for its laser-based drone defence in order to accelerate the scaling of its technology for defence applications and the protection of critical infrastructure.

The round was led by UVC Partners, with participation from HTGF, Balnord, Sentries, and Scale Capital.

“Our technology has reached the market and we are seeing strong order intake. We are now investing in manufacturing, quality assurance, sales and service to meet demand and deliver our systems at greater scale,” says Dr.-Ing. Marius Lammers, CEO and founder of INLEAP Photonics. “We will establish INLEAP Photonics as a leading European provider of laser effectors.”

INLEAP Photonics’ Seed round comes amid continued investment into European counter-drone, unmanned-systems and defence-autonomy technologies in 2026.

EU-Startups has reported comparable rounds including €30 million for Estonia’s counter-drone missile developer Frankenburg Technologies, €15 million for Finnish aerial-intelligence company Kelluu, €12 million for Norwegian unmanned-systems software developer Six Robotics, and earlier-stage financings for AirHub, Occam Industries, PDKINEMATICS, Mutable Tactics and Denmark’s counter-UAS startup Shotling.

Germany provides the largest same-country comparison, with Quantum Systems raising a €1 billion Series D in July.

Together, these 2026 rounds amount to approximately €1.07 billion, rising to around €1.09 billion when INLEAP’s round is included, although Quantum Systems accounts for €1 billion of that total. Excluding the Quantum Systems round, the other cited companies and INLEAP represent approximately €88.9 million in funding.

“Drone defence is no longer a purely military issue. Airports, energy facilities and data centres require the same level of protection as defence installations. INLEAP Photonics is the only team whose technology meets the requirements of both environments: eye-safe for civilian use and robust enough for deployment in conflict zones. For us, this dual-use capability is the key lever for scaling,” adds Amanda Birkenholz, Partner at UVC Partners.

Founded in 2023 as a spin-off from Laser Zentrum Hannover e. V., INLEAP Photonics produces and markets ultra-fast, precise laser beam steering systems. The company focuses in particular on two application areas: increasing the efficiency of industrial laser-based manufacturing processes and enabling safe, controlled drone defence to protect people and critical infrastructure.

Its two main product lines:

• INLEAP FASTLIGHT SHIELD has been developed for controlled and eye-safe drone defence. The laser effector reportedly neutralises drones within seconds by precisely targeting identified weak points. The system is intended for military applications as well as civilian and critical infrastructure environments.
• INLEAP FASTLIGHT HELD (High Energy Laser Drone) is a system for laser-based drone defence on an unmanned ground platform and extends the range of applications for mobile C-UAS scenarios. It is based on the same technological foundation and combines the laser effector with a compact, all-terrain UGV platform (Unmanned Ground Vehicle) and a C-UAS software platform.

The company says that today’s funding comes at a time of growing urgency. Recent incidents, including the drone attack at Leipzig/Halle Airport, demonstrate the immediate and real threat posed by unmanned aerial vehicles to critical infrastructure.

INLEAP Photonics looks to address this with efficient and safe laser-based drone defence solutions and is already working with customers and partners including the German Federal Ministry of Defence (BMVg) and the Bundeswehr Cyber Innovation Hub. The recently announced strategic partnership with STARK Defence further underlines the growing demand for sovereign, operationally proven C-UAS (Counter-Unmanned Aircraft Systems) developed in Germany.

“Moving into series production requires more than simply adding capacity. Every unit must be manufactured, tested and accepted under the same defined conditions. This is why we are investing in standardised assembly and testing processes, rigorous quality assurance and reliable supply chains,” says Dr.-Ing. Felix Wellmann, CTO and founder of INLEAP Photonics.

Specifically, the capital will be invested in the following areas:

• Scaling series production: Establishing and standardising manufacturing and testing processes for INLEAP FASTLIGHT HELD, and INLEAP FASTLIGHT SHIELD
• Research and development: Further development of the core technology, particularly its eye-safe operating principle. This enables INLEAP FASTLIGHT SHIELD to be deployed in urban and safety-critical environments.
• Sales and service: Expanding sales, customer support and market presence in Germany and across Europe. Further locations are planned in Germany and other European countries to intensify cooperation with public-sector customers and security-relevant organisations such as the Bundeswehr and to reach prospective customers more quickly.
• Quality assurance and certifications: Developing and implementing the required processes, evidence and certifications for reliable deployment in industrial and security-critical environments.

The new funding will enable INLEAP Photonics to further develop and scale both product lines.

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