Australian deep-tech startup Millibeam has unveiled Rakurai, a handheld counter-uncrewed aerial system (C-UAS) it says is designed and built around proprietary, Australian-developed radio frequency (RF) chips and architecture.
The company is positioning the system as a response to growing concern about drone threats in both military and domestic settings, and to the Australian Government’s stated investment priorities in counter-drone capabilities, including Project Land 156 and the 2026 National Defence Strategy and Integrated Investment Program.
Millibeam says Rakurai is intended to address practical constraints that have limited the wider deployment of handheld counter-drone jammers, including weight, battery life, range and frequency-band coverage. The company argues that many current systems rely on catalogue components that are not designed in Australia, which it says constrains performance and scalability.
According to the release, Rakurai is designed for broader deployment beyond specialist operators, including use by individual soldiers and first responders. Millibeam also says it is intended to be mountable on buildings for critical infrastructure protection, citing airports, telecommunications and energy as potential use cases.
The announcement follows $4.6 million in federal grants, comprising $2.6 million under the Industry Growth Program and $2 million under the Supply Chain Resilience Initiative. Millibeam said the funding supports development of the underlying millimetre-wave RF architecture and beamforming semiconductor chipsets that power Rakurai and other applications.
In the release, Main Sequence partner Mike Nicholls said the company’s approach involves designing the RF architecture “from the ground up,” including chips and antennas, rather than assembling off-the-shelf parts. Millibeam founder and CEO Venkata Gutta said chip-level design work in Australia is intended to support “sovereign capability” aligned with the National Defence Strategy.
Millibeam said Rakurai has recently reached Technology Readiness Level 5 as it prepares for field testing.
