The spark: why Estonia needed real-time drone awareness

When the Russo-Ukrainian war began, it immediately marked a turning point. Drones appeared on the battlefield from day one, not as experimental tools, but as essential instruments shaping strategy and survival. It was the first time the world saw drone warfare applied at such scale. But this fast evolution highlighted a critical gap back home: in Estonia, we still lacked a smart, real-time way to understand what was flying and where.

While Estonia has strict regulations and thousands of active drone pilots, the infrastructure to monitor and manage low-altitude airspace was missing. So HexTech began gathering data: drone models, detection methods, user requirements, and operational constraints.

This led them to build their own drone-detection device. Controlling the entire product became their advantage, they could quickly identify which variables influence detection results and improve the system based on real-world feedback from:

• Installers working in harsh environments
• Officials guarding perimeters and critical sites
• Executives making strategic, long-term airspace decisions

Today, HexTech collaborates closely with clients and partners to uncover new anomalies and refine detection accuracy, continuously evolving their platform.

Airspace safety and the need for a layered detection network

The team describes their mission simply: “We deal with airspace safety.”

The challenge is that airplanes and drones increasingly share the same space. To understand how this works in practice, HexTech monitors both manned aviation and drone activity simultaneously. When these layers are combined, a clearer picture appears of how new aerial actors interact with traditional airspace users. Estonia has avoided major incidents so far, but smaller conflicts and near-misses are becoming more frequent.


HexTech’s Drone Radar (Drooniradar) platform provides real-time statistics and insights that help institutions:

• improve legislation,
• understand pilot behaviour, and
• coordinate low-altitude air traffic based on facts rather than assumptions.

This layered approach is measurable, scalable, and crucial for safe airspace development.

Building hardware that survives the Nordic outdoors

If we ask HexTech how they design sensors that are both technically precise and physically durable, they give a simple answer: passion and testing. Every device they build serves as a business card. If it fails, they consider it a failure on their part. This mindset shapes their engineering discipline.

Testing is continuous. When they want to know if an enclosure can withstand rain, they don’t simulate the environment - they put it outside and let the weather decide. This ruthless honesty accelerates learning, cuts through wishful thinking, and results in devices that survive real conditions, not ideal ones. The result is hardware that reflects Nordic design principles: functional, resilient, and elegantly minimal.

The future of airspace intelligence: pragmatism over hype

AI, sensor fusion, and automation may dominate the headlines, but HexTech remains grounded. They note that many companies rush to adopt “big” concepts before understanding the real problem. At HexTech, the approach is pragmatic: real people solving real human challenges. That doesn’t mean they dismiss new technology, as AI tools can be valuable, but they focus on solutions that genuinely enhance safety and situational awareness.


Looking forward, the team sees one major development shaping the future of drone flight: U-Space. This EU-driven framework for integrating drones into shared airspace will unlock last-mile delivery, medical logistics, and other essential services. Once U-Space becomes fully operational, it will redefine how society uses drones. HexTech aims to be at the forefront of making that future safe and understandable.

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See HexTech Live at sTARTUp Day 2026

If you’re interested in:

• drone detection,
• airspace intelligence,
• defence technologies, or
• the future of integrated skies,

don’t miss the TalTech × HexTech “Securing the Skies: Drone Detection & Defence” seminar on 29 January at 13:00 in room 4.

Stop by the TalTech booth to explore the technology, meet the team, and discover how Estonia is helping secure tomorrow’s airspace.