Hidden Level: Passive Multi-Static Radar and the Army's Counter-UAS Sensing Layer

system · July 30, 2026, 5:35pm

Hidden Level, Inc. is a Syracuse, New York-based defense technology company that develops passive multi-static radar systems for detecting and tracking small unmanned aerial systems (sUAS). Founded in September 2018 by Jeff Cole and Gary Dominicos — both alumni of SRC Inc., the Syracuse radar and electronic warfare firm — the company has become the designed-in passive radar supplier to the U.S. Army’s Family of Counter-UAS Systems (FoCUS) and, as of July 2026, holds a $100 million Pentagon-wide Other Transaction Agreement enabling sole-source procurement across the entire Department of Defense.

Technology

Hidden Level’s core product is a low-SWaP (size, weight, and power) passive multi-static radar: a network of receive-only sensors that exploits ambient 4G/LTE downlink signals already saturating the environment to detect, track, and classify small unmanned aircraft. Because the system transmits nothing, it presents no electromagnetic signature — no signal for an adversary to detect, target, or home in on.

The architecture addresses a structural gap in conventional counter-UAS sensing. The fastest-evolving adversary drones are going “dark” — pre-programmed waypoint flight, fiber-optic control tethers, and onboard autonomy eliminate the RF command links that traditional RF-detection systems rely on. Passive radar detects the physical aircraft moving through ambient RF fields, so it tracks dark drones that RF sniffers miss entirely. Complementary RF direction-finding geolocates drone operators when links are present.

All hardware is TRL 9, MIL-STD-810 qualified by third-party labs, and entirely designed, developed, and manufactured in the United States.

Products

Breaker — Fixed-site passive sensor for installations and critical infrastructure. Passive radar range up to 30 km; RF detection up to 25 km; rated −40 to +60 °C and 100+ mph winds.

Surge — Mobile and expeditionary radar for vehicles and vessels. Currently integrated on five U.S. Army vehicle classes including the Humvee, JLTV, and Hilux; fielded since 2024.

BYOTx — A 50-lb companion transmitter that augments Surge in environments with sparse ambient RF illumination, enabling Group 1–3 UAS detection to 6 km.

AMS (Airspace Monitoring Service) — C2 software and data-as-a-service platform with open-API integration. Feeds tracks into Palantir Maven, Anduril Lattice, ATAK, and legacy command-and-control environments. Delivered as software or subscription.

Government Contracts and Programs

FoCUS Design-In (2019–2023). The Army’s DEVCOM C5ISR Center began developing FoCUS — its government-owned, multi-sensor counter-UAS family — in 2019. Hidden Level’s own FCC experimental license filing states the company is “tasked with developing a low-size, weight, and power (SWAP) Multi-Static Radar (MSR) receiver to integrate into the FOCUS system.” The company has operated FoCUS-supporting test transmissions under FCC Special Temporary Authority (call sign WV9XQB) since July 2023.

$10M APFIT Award (May 2023). The Office of the Secretary of Defense selected Hidden Level — one of only 11 companies chosen that year — for a $10 million Accelerate the Procurement and Fielding of Innovative Technologies award to fund production transition of its tactical passive radar for the U.S. Army.

Army Program of Record (2024). The capability transitioned to an Army program of record with a ten-year resource commitment. By mid-2026, CEO Jeff Cole confirmed the program had moved into full-rate production.

$100M Pentagon-Wide OTA (July 2026). The capstone: a $100 million Other Transaction Agreement awarded by the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering through Army Contracting Command. Any DoD customer can now issue task orders for Hidden Level hardware, services, and subscriptions quickly, sole-source, without individual competitive contracting processes. Millions of dollars in task orders were placed within days of signature.

FoCUS and the Locked-In Bill of Materials

On July 27, 2026, Army Contracting Command at Aberdeen Proving Ground posted sources sought notice W56KGU26RPPFS seeking manufacturers for the palletized variant of FoCUS. The structure of that requirement defines Hidden Level’s position: the government owns the design; sensing hardware must be procured to the exact make and model in the government bill of materials — no substitutions; and production must run at no less than one system per month.

The consequence is mechanical: whichever integrator wins the production contract, every FoCUS unit built generates recurring Hidden Level sensor sales. Vehicle integrators — Leonardo DRS, General Dynamics OTS, Oshkosh, Kratos, and others — will compete on assembly cost and rate. The passive radar inside the architecture is not in competition.

This position sits inside an Army small counter-UAS procurement account that grew from $596 million enacted in FY26 to a $994 million FY27 request — a 67 percent increase — with FoCUS explicitly named in the budget justification and a dedicated ~$80 million “Unit Common” procurement line defining the tier FoCUS is scaling toward.

Deployments

Hidden Level’s Surge radars are integrated on five U.S. Army vehicle classes and have been fielded since 2024 across CENTCOM, AFRICOM, SOUTHCOM, and domestically. Operational use includes 10th Mountain Division counter-cartel drone operations on the southern border and Stryker-mounted counter-UAS experimentation with 2nd Cavalry Regiment in Europe under Project Flytrap.

Additional contracts and deployments span the Air Force (a completed two-year evaluation against Group 1 UAS; AFWERX SBIR awards), the Joint Staff J-7 Warfighter Lab Incentive Fund, the Pentagon’s JIATF-401 counter-UAS task force, NORTHCOM, INDOPACOM, NASA, and the FAA’s Section 383 detection research with Saab.

Domestically, the technology secured the airspace over the January 2025 presidential inauguration, monitors the National Capital Region, protects venues from the New York State Fair to Syracuse Athletics, and is preparing for FIFA World Cup 2026. Because the sensors are receive-only, they comply with Title 18 regulations and can be deployed over U.S. cities without legislative change.

In December 2025, DIU named Hidden Level a top performer in its C-sUAS Low-Cost Sensing Challenge.

Funding and Valuation

Hidden Level has raised approximately $130 million in total venture capital. A combined Series B and Series C round in 2024–2025 secured $100 million, valuing the company at roughly $500 million. Notable investors include Lockheed Martin Ventures, DFJ Growth, and Booz Allen Ventures — the latter being the incumbent FoCUS developer, institutionalizing ecosystem neutrality at the investor level.

Revenue grew from approximately $5 million in 2024 toward a projected $25 million in 2025 — roughly 400 percent growth — with government sales comprising about 80 percent of the mix.

Leadership

Name	Role
Jeff Cole	Chief Executive Officer (co-founder)
Gary Dominicos	Chief Administrative Officer (co-founder)
Brad Garber	Chief Operating Officer (former senior naval aviator)
Dave Fluker	VP of Sales (former senior naval aviator)
Tim Graham	Chief Technology Officer (two decades of radar patents)
Antoinett Dufort	VP of Operations (MACNY 2026 Innovator of the Year)

Operations

The company employs over 100 people (104 as of April 2025, up from 60 at end of 2023), operating a vertically integrated design-manufacture-test operation across multiple Syracuse-area facilities including a dedicated manufacturing plant in DeWitt, NY. A planned consolidated headquarters at Syracuse’s Inner Harbor is backed by $5 million in New York State incentives tied to 100 additional jobs.

References

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