Origin
A brigade asked. Advent Atum answered.
In early 2025, HART Brigade of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine approached Advent Atum with a proposal: install the HORAS EO/IR sensor and detection system on an AZP S-60 anti-aircraft platform. Prove the detection layer works in the field. If it did, proceed to a full motorised fire control upgrade under formal contract.
No government procurement paperwork. No lengthy evaluation process. A Ukrainian military unit offering access, personnel, and operational context — asking for nothing except results.
Australian Technology
Aboriginal-owned. Australian-made. Combat-proven.
The core technology inside the Hellhammer Fire Control System is HORAS DDS — a drone detection and tracking subcomponent developed and owned by Advent Atum Pty Ltd, an Aboriginal-owned Australian defence technology company founded in Sydney in July 2021. HORAS DDS is the Australian sovereign technology at the heart of every Hellhammer-equipped weapon system. The Hellhammer FCS itself is the complete fire control system built around HORAS DDS by Advent Atum Ukraine LLC, the in-country operating entity.
The Value
What this kind of program is worth
A comparable weapon system modernisation program from a defence prime would cost upwards of USD $30 million just to start — before a single gun is touched. Scoping studies, procurement cycles, contractor mobilisation, and years of delay before any hardware reaches the field.
Advent Atum delivered Project Timofiy for free. Phase 1 proved the detection system. Phase 2 is delivering the full motorised fire control upgrade. Prime-level engineering quality, proven in the field, at a fraction of the cost and timeline.
Comparable Programs
USD $30M+
to start a modernisation program
Advent Atum
Delivered for free.
Prime-level quality. Proven in the field.
What is needed now
The State Border Guard Service of Ukraine has identified 52 AZP S-60 guns that need immediate Hellhammer fire control upgrades. These guns are in service today, mechanically operational, but unable to effectively detect and engage modern drone threats without modernisation. The full program also requires 9 radar systems for networked air defence coverage.
~AUD $35M
Total program cost
180+
S-60s in Ukrainian service
Each Hellhammer upgrade costs approximately AUD $600,000 per gun. Each radar unit costs approximately AUD $250,000. The 52-gun Border Guard program totals approximately AUD $35 million — a fraction of what a legacy prime would charge, delivered by an Australian SME with a proven track record.
Beyond the Border Guard, Ukraine has approximately 180 S-60 platforms in service across its armed forces, all requiring the same upgrade. The Hellhammer architecture also scales to the ZU-23-2, SICH Turret, and Tavria RWS — hundreds more platforms that need modern fire control.
How Australian political support can help:
Export pathways — Expedited export clearance for HORAS DDS enables Advent Atum to scale the program and deliver at the speed Ukraine needs.
Bilateral defence cooperation — Inclusion of Advent Atum in Australia-Ukraine defence industry initiatives demonstrates that Australian sovereign technology is not just a policy aspiration — it is operational, deployed, and making a difference.
Continued investment in SME defence innovation — Companies like Advent Atum prove that Australian SMEs can deliver prime-level capability at a fraction of the cost and timeline. Programs like Defence Trailblazer and ASCA are how that happens.
The immediate impact — 52 upgraded guns means 52 positions where Ukrainian border guards can detect and engage the drone threats that are killing soldiers and civilians right now. Every gun upgraded is a life protected. The technology exists. It is proven. It needs support to scale.
The Upgrade
Hellhammer Fire Control System
The AZP S-60 is a Soviet-era 57mm anti-aircraft gun. Hundreds remain in Ukrainian service — mechanically sound, with years of barrel life remaining. Unable to be properly aimed, tracked, or networked without a modern fire control retrofit.
Project Timofiy proves the upgrade in two phases. Phase 1 installed the HORAS EO/IR sensor and detection system — giving the gun eyes. AI-driven drone detection, classification, and track management, validated in the field. Phase 2 delivers the full Hellhammer Fire Control System: gun repair, motorisation, encoders, EO/IR, radar integration, IMU, GNSS, and the GXA1 compute module running HORAS DDS as its core subcomponent. The best of Australian and Ukrainian technology.
Core Subcomponent
HORAS DDS
AI drone detection, classification, and track management. Developed by Advent Atum Pty Ltd, Aboriginal-owned, Australian. The sovereign technology at the heart of every Hellhammer system.
Fire Control System
Hellhammer FCS
Complete fire control system built around HORAS DDS by Advent Atum Ukraine LLC. Ballistic computation, threat evaluation, engagement logic.
Full Scope
Ground-Up Rebuild
Gun repair, motorisation, encoders, EO/IR sensor head, radar integration, IMU, GNSS, GXA1 compute module. Everything except the turret is new.
Compute
GXA1 Module
Edge compute mounted directly on the gun. No network dependency. Survives dense electronic warfare environments.
On the Factory Floor
The S-60 Hellhammer build
Platform
AZP S-60 57mm anti-aircraft gun on its original wheeled carriage. Decades of service life remaining in the mount and barrel.
Fire Control
The Hellhammer operator interface with HORAS targeting display and EO/IR sensor head. 60-year-old gun. 21st century weapon system.
Integration
Top-down view during Phase 2 integration. HORAS display at the gunner’s station. New electronics alongside the original platform.
Compute & Drive
GXA1 compute module, servo motor assemblies, and wiring harnesses integrated into the S-60 carriage. Edge compute on the gun.
Timeline
From pilot to contract
March 2025
Phase 1 begins — EO/IR testing
HART Brigade sponsors free pilot. Advent Atum installs the HORAS EO/IR sensor and detection system on an S-60 platform. Proves the detection layer in the field at no cost to Ukraine.
May 2025
EO/IR bore sighting and zeroing complete
EO/IR sensor integration validated on the S-60. Bore sighting and zeroing completed in Ukraine.
October 2025
Phase 1 results confirmed
EO/IR detection results sufficient to proceed. HART Brigade signs formal contract for Phase 2: full S60 Hellhammer motorised fire control upgrade.
October 2025 — present
Phase 2 underway — full Hellhammer upgrade
Gun repair, motorisation, encoders, EO/IR, radar integration, IMU, GNSS, GXA1 compute. The S-60 becomes a networked, AI-driven weapon system.
Target Q1 2026
Phase 2 completion
Full motorised Hellhammer system validated on the S-60. Triggers conversion of Ukrainian MoD Letter of Intent to formal procurement contract.
52 guns. AUD $35 million. Every gun upgraded is a position where Ukrainian border guards can detect and engage the drone threats that are killing soldiers and civilians. The technology exists. It is proven. It needs support to scale.
Strategic Significance
Why Project Timofiy matters beyond one gun
The S-60 is not the point. The architecture — GXA1 module, Hellhammer fire control system, HORAS DDS core — is designed to scale across the ZU-23-2, SICH Turret, and Tavria RWS. Every system Advent Atum deploys creates a platform that requires ongoing software updates, field maintenance, and operator recertification. Advent Atum Ukraine is the only entity that can provide these.
The spare parts problem is structural. Three years of warfare have consumed the global secondary market for Soviet-era fire control electronics. Those supply chains do not exist at scale and will not be rebuilt. The Hellhammer upgrade replaces the entire fire control layer. Once installed, Advent Atum Ukraine becomes the sole authorised service point for every component it touched.
Project Timofiy proves the model. The Border Guard program scales it. The sustainment contracts compound it.
