Fractal Antenna Systems Introduces JERECHO™: A New Era in Defense and Next-Generation Acoustic Technologies

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Fractal Antenna Systems, Inc. (FRACTAL), through its OWL WORKS™ special projects team, announced JERECHO™, an acoustic array platform marking a significant advance in the strategic use of sound. Designed as a testbed for acoustic technology development and proof of concept fielding, JERECHO™ introduces new capabilities ranging from counter-drone detection and disruption to electronic spoofing, laser enhancement, and controlled-flight experimentation.

“Sound waves have long had their place in defense, but we now see a new era emerging—'acoustic electronic warfare’-- defined by novel ways of directing and controlling sound and medium, and thwarting devices that are surprisingly sensitive to sound interaction,” said FRACTAL CEO Nathan Cohen.

A key motivation for JERECHO™ is its role as a next-generation testbed for soft-kill C-UAS out to medium ranges --providing an acoustic component for layered defense. At its core is FRACTAL’s proprietary Acoustic Resonance Mitigation (ARM) framework, originally patented in 2015 by Cohen and a collaborator, with additional patent-pending novelty. Their ARM technology was the pioneer of acoustic counter-UAS—yet was ignored domestically and copied by foreign entities. Recognizing the irony, FRACTAL recently received the 2025 Gold Military & Aerospace Innovation Award for this pioneering work and for the company’s continued progress in advanced acoustic countermeasures.

JERECHO™ is a patent pending sound-based array with previously untapped performance metrics, allowing wideband sonification and detection and imaging. It is designed, among other uses, to listen for, pinpoint, and attack drones. Additionally, JERECHO™’s architecture departs from traditional acoustics by focusing on how sound reshapes its medium—how that medium can be directed, concentrated, and controlled to achieve precise effects. Many of its capabilities stem from fractal-based techniques that enable new levels of power and acoustic array shaping.

Even at a fraction of its capabilities, JERECHO™ shows the proprietary power of its directed sound arrays. For example, a precisely tuned ultrasonic hit sends a smartphone’s digital compass spinning. Small drones’ camera images blur and shake under the acoustic vibration. Cohen stresses, “These are not anecdotal cases. The U.S. needs to lead in this defense option but also understand how our adversaries might use acoustic attack against us.”

For three decades, FRACTAL has established itself as a leader in disruptive technology, with a record of first-of-its-kind advances spanning antennas, arrays, fractal metamaterials, invisibility cloaks, and other high-impact innovations. Cohen—an award-winning astrophysicist and inventor—brings expertise extending from imaging to aerospace engineering and medical ultrasound. His recent profile celebrating the firm’s anniversary highlights a career built on foundational breakthroughs. Cohen and FRACTAL’s breadth of experience bring diverse technology elements together to enable advanced acoustic C-UAS capabilities.

“Sound can be potent against modern machine surrogates such as drones, robots, smartphones, electronics, vessels, and aerial objects of unknown origin,” he said. “Downing drones is only the beginning. We are advancing the very technologies we invented years ago—once brushed aside and even considered a dead end—to protect Americans and assets with acoustic innovations that go to 11.”