BSV Podcast 0133: Broswarm

Balerion Principal Aidan Daoussis sits down with Ernestas Žvaigždinas, Co-founder & CEO of Broswarm, to discuss drone-based landmine detection. Broswarm is developing a lightweight UAV-mounted synthetic aperture radar payload designed to detect landmines and other subsurface objects from autonomous drone flights. The conversation covers the landmine crisis in Ukraine, radio-wave imaging, plastic mine detection, field deployment, and broader applications in defense, infrastructure, robotics, and subsurface sensing.Timestamped Overview00:00 – Introduction to Broswarm and its drone-mounted synthetic aperture radar for landmine detection02:18 – How the UAV performs raster scans and reconstructs subsurface images04:21 – Applications beyond mines, including infrastructure, archaeology, tunnels, and robotic vision06:00 – Ernestas Žvaigždinas’ startup background and the Ukraine-driven origin of Broswarm10:02 – Landmine manufacturing, deployment, and why detection remains difficult15:14 – Autonomous field scanning workflow, processing time, and detection-focused mission scope18:00 – Removal methods for detected mines and the differences between humanitarian and military demining20:51 – Customer pathways across defense ministries, NGOs, governments, and commercial operators23:54 – Detection depth, radio frequencies, GPS precision, and plastic landmine detection29:53 – Dual-use applications, including through-wall sensing, buried bodies, resource detection, and treasure hunting36:24 – Subterranean warfare, smart landmines, UGVs, and battlefield economics44:45 – Long-term vision for radio-wave sensing in robotics, space, vehicles, and change detection51:17 – Closing thoughts on Ukraine, European defense innovation, and the role of technical talent This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit balerionspace.substack.com