A product developed by a Tynedale-based counter terrorism specialists has been commissioned by the US Army during a training session in Italy.

Soldiers were trained to operate SkyWall Patrol handheld drone capture system, created by Stocksfield's OpenWorks Engineering to capture static and moving targets during test scenarios, as part of the US Army in Africa’s mission to bring new technology to the region.

OpenWorks is a world leader in the creation of technology to support the safe physical defeat of drones.

The company has been leading the sector in global security technology since it released its world-leading SkyWall Patrol handheld capture system in 2016, supplying systems to law enforcement and military customers around the world.

This is the first time that the company has been in a position to discuss its involvement with the US Army.

During the exercise US Army soldiers achieved captures after minimal training and were able to operate the system effectively and safely in live demonstrations.

OpenWorks director, James Cross said: “We have been working with the US military since 2016 and this exercise has been a great test of our product capability, in-service support delivery and builds upon our existing relationship with US security forces.

“Our dedicated team of engineers will continue to drive the development of the best drone captur systems in the world, working closely with the world’s leading military organisations to ensure that SkyWall net capture systems continue to be the most capable available.”

The Longare exercise was also attended by law enforcement officers from the Carabinieri, the national gendarmerie of Italy who primarily carry out domestic policing duties.

OpenWorks, based at Stocksfield Hall, has also recently launched a range of products including SkyWall Auto Response which is a vehicle-mounted, autonomous system that rapidly captures multiple targets in accurately delivered nets.