SCI Technology — AeroGuard
Table of Contents

⚠ Disclaimer: This entry may be incomplete, out of date, or inaccurate. It is AI-maintained on a best-effort basis. Do not rely on it as a sole source — verify claims independently using the sources listed below.

Summary

SCI Technology, Inc. is a Huntsville, Alabama–based defense and aerospace electronics manufacturer, operating since 1961 (originally founded as Space Craft, Incorporated) and a wholly owned subsidiary of Sanmina Corporation (Nasdaq: SANM) since Sanmina’s 2001 acquisition of SCI Systems. Among its counter-UAS product line, AeroGuard is a fully autonomous, rapid-response drone interdiction system that physically nets and tows away intruding unmanned aircraft under FAA Part 107 thresholds, without RF jamming. Editorial note on naming confusion: SCI Technology (sci.com) is a distinct company from SciTec, Inc. (scitec.com, a Princeton, NJ missile-warning/ISR contractor recently acquired by Firefly Aerospace) — the similar names are a frequent source of confusion in defense-industry search results and this entry should not be merged with that one.

Key Facts

  • Founded: 1961 (as Space Craft, Incorporated, by Olin King); rebranded SCI Technology in 2012
  • HQ: Huntsville, Alabama (685,000 sq. ft. facility on a 100-acre campus)
  • Type: Private; wholly owned subsidiary of Sanmina Corporation (Nasdaq: SANM) since 2001 acquisition (Sanmina acquired SCI Systems for ~$6B in cash, stock, and debt)
  • Business model: Platform OEM (AeroGuard system) and defense/aerospace electronics manufacturer (broader SCI Technology business: aircraft intercoms, data concentrators, fiber optics, integrated manufacturing services)
  • AeroGuard product status: Named 2018 Drone Security New Product of the Year by Security Today magazine; US and foreign patents pending as of company materials; ITAR-free, ECCN 9A991.b classification
  • Primary market for AeroGuard: Large outdoor gatherings (sporting events, concerts), critical infrastructure, contraband/IP-piracy prevention — explicitly positioned as a civilian-legal alternative to RF jamming

What It Is / How It Works

AeroGuard is a net-capture drone interdiction system built around a Command & Control (C2) hub and a fleet of autonomous, dock-based Interceptor drones. The described operational sequence: a third-party drone detection system (radar, EO/IR, acoustic, or other sensor) identifies an intruding UAV and alerts AeroGuard’s C2 system; C2 selects and launches available Interceptors within seconds; each Interceptor computes an intercept path from real-time C2 updates; an onboard terminal guidance system calculates a firing solution and net-captures the target; the captured drone is towed to a designated disposal zone while the Interceptor returns to its dock to recharge. SCI Technology markets AeroGuard’s central differentiator as no RF jamming — the system does not interfere with cell phones, WiFi, or other legal communications, which the company positions as making it deployable by civilian security operators (not just federal agencies subject to jamming-authorization restrictions under the FAA Reauthorization Act; see this section’s Regulatory Framework entry). AeroGuard integrates with existing CCTV and third-party detection sensors (radar, EO/IR, acoustic) rather than shipping its own primary sensor suite, positioning it as an interdiction layer that sits atop a customer’s existing detection stack.

SCI Technology’s broader business (aircraft intercoms/FireComm, data concentrators, fiber optics, IWICS/ISWICS wireless intercommunication, integrated manufacturing services) is a legacy Sanmina defense-electronics contract manufacturing operation with roots in the Apollo program and Voyager 2 — AeroGuard is one specific counter-UAS product line within a much larger, diversified defense-manufacturing business, not the company’s primary revenue driver.

Notable Developments

  • 2018: AeroGuard named 2018 Drone Security New Product of the Year by Security Today magazine.
  • 2017 (approx.): First-flight test imagery published by SCI Technology (per site gallery dates), indicating early flight testing occurred around this period.
  • 2012: Sanmina rebrands its Defense & Aerospace Systems (DAS) division back to the SCI Technology name, restoring the original 1961 SCI branding.
  • 2001: Sanmina Corporation acquires SCI Systems for approximately $6 billion in cash, stock, and debt, forming Sanmina-SCI Corporation; SCI’s government division becomes Defense & Aerospace Systems.

Key People

Darin Marley — President, SCI Technology

  • Role: President of SCI Technology, Inc. (a Sanmina company); joined May 2024
  • LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/darin-marley-820994b
  • Career (reverse-chronological): SCI Technology, President (2024–present); Leonardo DRS, VP Naval Electronics Programs; API Technologies, VP and General Manager (electro-mechanical design/assembly/robotic products); prior roles at Leonardo DRS and Kennametal in strategic planning, financial planning, business development, program management, manufacturing, and engineering
  • Education: BS, United States Naval Academy; MS Engineering, University of New Orleans; MBA, Northeastern University
  • Military service: US Navy Lieutenant, 1989–1994

Max Klein, Ph.D. — Chief Technology Officer, SCI Technology

  • Role: CTO; leads company-wide technology and product roadmaps, including maturing new technologies (such as AeroGuard) into commercial product offerings
  • LinkedIn: Not found via public search
  • Career: Previously at Exponent (Technology Development practice, Phoenix, AZ), where he led a US Army–funded R&D program developing an ultra-wideband electronically steerable ground-penetrating radar system for real-time IED detection
  • Education: BS Computer and Systems Engineering / Computer Science, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; MS and Ph.D. Electrical Engineering, Stanford University (Space, Telecommunications, and Radioscience Laboratory)

People — Last Reviewed: 2026-07-26

Claim Verification

Claim: AeroGuard operates without RF jamming and is “civilian-friendly”/legally deployable outside federal authorization

Status: Partially verified (company-stated design characteristic; legal deployability depends on jurisdiction-specific rules for physical drone capture, not just the jamming question)

Supporting sources:

Refuting / questioning sources:

  • None found directly addressing AeroGuard; however, this section’s own Regulatory Framework and Property Owner Rights vs. Drone Operator Rules entries note that physical interdiction/capture of another party’s aircraft — even without RF jamming — can separately implicate FAA airspace authority, state/local self-help laws, and liability for damage to the captured drone, regardless of whether jamming is involved. The absence of RF jamming addresses one legal constraint but does not by itself establish that net-capture is unrestricted for non-federal operators in all jurisdictions.

Summary: AeroGuard’s no-jamming design is confirmed by the company’s own materials and is a real technical distinction from RF-based mitigation systems. Whether that alone makes physical interception broadly civilian-legal (as opposed to merely avoiding the specific jamming-authorization statute) was not independently verified against current FAA/state law in this review; treat SCI Technology’s “civilian-friendly” framing as a marketing characterization pending independent legal confirmation.

Sources

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