Guardian RF YC Application

Summer 2024Active

Guardian RF went through Y Combinator in the Summer 2024 batch as a Industrials company. Below: what the company does, who founded it, and its application to YC, reconstructed question by question in the real YC form.

YC batch: Summer 2024
Industry: IndustrialsDrones
Team size: 15
Status: Active
Launched: 2024

Founders

Lucas RaskinFounder
John AndrzejewskiFounder
Eli KersteinFounder

What Guardian RF does

The rise of low-cost commercial drones has introduced a new class of asymmetric threats to U.S. national security. Off-the-shelf platforms now deliver ISR, contraband, or payloads with precision, while operating below radar coverage and beyond line-of-sight. These systems - often costing under $1,000 - are capable of neutralizing multi-million-dollar defense assets. For drone detection to be viable at scale, sensors must achieve cost parity with the threat. In response, the Department of Defense established multiple initiatives to counter the rapid proliferation of uncrewed aerial systems. The Joint Counter-small UAS Office (JCO) coordinates policy and acquisition across services. The Base Defense Cross-Functional Team enables persistent perimeter security for CONUS and OCONUS installations. Falcon Peak, Red Sands, and related exercises are accelerating deployment of counter-UAS technologies in complex environments. This threat is no longer exclusive to military operations overseas. It now directly targets the U.S. homeland. In 2025, an executive order designated the protection of American airspace sovereignty a national priority, recognizing that uncrewed systems present both surveillance and kinetic risks within the United States. That same year, a domestic extremist plotted to destroy a Tennessee power substation using a drone rigged with C-4 explosives - a plan disrupted by undercover federal agents. In July 2025, an unauthorized drone collided with a rescue helicopter during disaster response operations in Kerr County, Texas, forcing an emergency landing and halting flood relief efforts. These are not isolated incidents - they reflect a broader shift in drone-enabled threats against homeland infrastructure and public safety. Guardian RF builds passive, radiofrequency-based drone detection systems for force protection and critical infrastructure defense inside the United States. Our systems are fielded under an AFWERX Direct-to-Phase-II SBIR with the 30th Security Forces Squadron at Vandenberg Space Force Base, deployed by local and state law enforcement, and integrated into commercial security operations. We were selected as a finalist for Falcon Peak 25.2, the Department of Defense’s premier counter-UAS exercise. Scout is a passive RF sensor for fixed, mobile, or temporary deployments. It detects and classifies drone control signals - including modified variants of DJI, Crossfire, and ExpressLRS - at standoff ranges. Scout supports direct integration into TAK and other operational APIs and is managed through GRF-SECURE, our secure interface for live monitoring, threat alerting, and forensic review. Mosaic extends coverage in austere environments, enabling persistent low-altitude monitoring and classification of non - Remote ID drones across complex terrain - without active emissions or mesh dependency. Built in the United States, Guardian RF delivers scalable, automated, and cost-aligned drone detection - passive by design and hardened for real-world deployment across the homeland.

Guardian RF's YC application, reconstructed

Y Combinator application

Guardian RF, Summer 2024 batch. The real form questions, answered from public data.

Founders2
Company7
Progress7
Idea4
Equity3
Curious2
Batch Preference1

Company

Company name

Guardian RF

Describe what your company does in 50 characters or less.

Drone detection for US defense and national security

What is your company going to make? Please describe your product and what it does or will do.

We build passive radiofrequency drone detection systems for force protection and critical infrastructure defense. Our products Scout and Mosaic detect and classify drone control signals at standoff ranges without active emissions. They integrate with operational APIs like TAK and provide secure monitoring through GRF-SECURE. Our tech focuses on persistent, automated detection of low-cost commercial drones that threaten US national security.

Where do you live now, and where would the company be based after YC?

We don't have a fixed location listed publicly; the company operates remotely or from flexible locations. After YC, we'd base in the US to stay close to DoD and law enforcement customers.

Explain your decision regarding location.

The US homeland is our primary market, and proximity to defense and law enforcement agencies is crucial for sales and support. That's why we'd locate where it enables those relationships post-YC.

21 more answers in the full application

Founders, Progress, Idea, Equity, Curious, Batch Preference are in the full version. Create a free account to open it in YC Insights, next to every other YC batch.

See full application

Frequently Asked Questions

Is this the real Guardian RF YC application?

No. Y Combinator keeps submitted applications private. This is a reconstruction: the real YC form questions, answered from Guardian RF's public data (launch notes, founder backgrounds, product description). It shows how a company like Guardian RF would present itself to YC, not the text they submitted.