Drone company trains Ukrainians near Polish border, helping bolster defense

By Maddie White

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    LAS VEGAS, Nevada (KVVU) — Somewhere in Poland, not too far from the Ukrainian border, Ukrainian first responders spent the past week sharpening their combat and defense skills by learning how to operate tactical drones from a team of Las Vegans.

That team includes 22-year-old Summerlin native Blake Resnick, the CEO of Brinc Drones in Las Vegas. Last November, FOX5 introduced you to Resnick and his innovation, the Lemur S drone. Inspired by the tragic events of 1 October, the young engineer’s technology aims to help first responders uncover suspects, victims and quickly gather intelligence in dangerous situations.

Now, the southern Nevadan is helping Ukrainians in their defense efforts against Russian forces, and Las Vegas-made drones are set to take flight in war-torn Ukraine.

“It’s an unbelievably worthy cause,” Resnick said. “We’re happy to do what we can to help.”

Resnick and his team members, some of whom also grew up in Las Vegas, returned back to the U.S. on Sunday after spending four days in an area of Poland near the Ukraine border.

“We just decided, ‘Let’s just donate the systems,’” Resnick said. “The Ukrainians were able to get out of the country and into Poland and we were able to get into Poland.”

The Brinc team handed off 10 of their drones to Ukrainian Emergency Services personnel. In total, they donated about $150,000 worth of equipment. But they also trained the group of more than a dozen Ukrainian first responders on how to use the drone’s night vision and glass-breaking capabilities to save lives.

“These are features that, ya know, take a little bit of instruction,” Resnick said.

The product will be used to defend against Russia’s extensive bombings, he said. With a particular focus on exploring unsafe buildings or interior spaces, their primary goal is “search and rescue” for survivors or any deceased.

“[Those buildings] might also still be actively dangerous for first responders if they’re not structurally stable or similar. So, in a situation like that, they’ll send in the drones to look for survivors, find them, and talk to them, since we build the only drone in the world that can do that,” Resnick said.

The Lemur contains built-in microphones and speakers that make up a two-way communication system.

Another big mission, Resnick says, is finding out where Russian troops might be located within urban areas.

“Like, if they’re inside the building or not,” he said. “So that’s useful information to have, so they can send a drone in.”

Resnick developed the drone in Las Vegas when he was just a teen with a goal of saving lives and assisting first responders in various situations.

“I worked on this technology after October 1 to save lives,” Resnick said. “And now there are instances where, it’s — where it’s doing that. So, I just think it’s incredibly powerful, inspiring and motivating that that’s happening.”

Resnick is of Ukrainian ancestry himself, so his team’s efforts are particularly close to his heart.

Brinc Drones’ Las Vegas office is located off the 215 and Decatur Boulevard. The company has recently expanded to have an office in Seattle.

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