Aurelius Systems' Archimedes autonomous laser system for defeating small drones. Photo: Aurelius

Aurelius Systems on Wednesday said it has raised $40 million in a Series A round that will help with development of its counter-drone laser system, expand its operations and production, and vertically integrate. The funding round was led by Draper Associates and KAS Venture Partners. Aurelius is developing Archimedes, an autonomous laser system for tracking, detecting and neutralizing small drone threats. The system was successfully demonstrated this year at a Defense Department experimentation event (Defense Daily, June 12). “This investment…