Mine Kafon
Mine Kafon is a Maastricht-based Dutch humanitarian technology company that develops and sells the MKD System — a drone-based airborne detection and demining platform — to governments, humanitarian NGOs, and demining product resellers in landmine-affected regions including MENA.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2013
- HeadquartersMaastricht, Netherlands
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Mine Kafon does
Mine Kafon is a privately held Dutch humanitarian technology company, headquartered in Maastricht and operated through its legal entity Hassani Design BV. Founded by Dutch-Afghan brothers Massoud and Mahmud Hassani, the company designs and sells the Mine Kafon Drone (MKD) System — an unmanned airborne detection platform for humanitarian demining and mapping of explosive remnants of war (ERW) and unexploded ordnance (UXO). The system executes a three-step workflow: aerial mapping via the MK Destiny ISR drone, ground-level detection via the MK Manta heavy-lift drone carrying the custom MK Multi-Sensor payload (multi-sensor fusion with AI-driven data stitching, GPS/RTK accuracy of 4cm and ground penetration up to 3 metres), and remote detonation of identified hazards, with three interchangeable robotic add-ons (Rope Robot, Delta Robot, Gripper Robot) for varied terrain. The original Mine Kafon Ball — a wind-powered detonation device — is held in MoMA's permanent collection.
The company addresses a global market spanning more than 60 landmine-affected countries, targeting governments, humanitarian demining organizations (including UNMAS, DMAC, and HALO Trust as named prospect segments), demining product resellers, and — with its robotic extensions — emergency responders. Geographically, Mine Kafon concentrates commercial activity toward the MENA region with field trials and demonstrations underway, while maintaining European institutional ties through NRL certification, GICHD participation, and partners such as NRL, PwC Netherlands, Maastricht University, and Droneport.
Mine Kafon's revenue mechanics are hardware-led but at a pre-commercial stage. As of early 2020 the company transitioned from R&D to go-to-market, opening dedicated sales channels ([email protected], [email protected]) and an investment inquiry line ([email protected]). Revenue streams combine drone hardware sales (single-unit in-house build, with OEM outsourcing for orders over 30 units), product leasing to exhibitors and museums, presentations and lectures, and planned merchandise. The company also pursued a 3D-printable MK Emergency Mask as a COVID-19-era sideline and has signaled expansion into agricultural and forestry sensing applications. To date, the company has been financed through Horizon 2020 SME Instrument Phase 1 (European Commission), regional grants from LIOF and Limburg Makers, support from the Netherlands Enterprise Agency and the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a 2016 Kickstarter campaign, and integration partnerships with German and Swedish OEM sensor developers; no equity venture capital rounds have been disclosed.
Mine Kafon firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Mine Kafon
- Legal name
- Hassani Design BV
- Website
- https://minekafon.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2013
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Mine Kafon is a Maastricht-based Dutch humanitarian technology company that develops and sells the MKD System — a drone-based airborne detection and demining platform — to governments, humanitarian NGOs, and demining product resellers in landmine-affected regions including MENA.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Mine Kafon industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Humanitarian Demining Drone Systems
- NAICS
- Search, Detection, Navigation, Guidance, Aeronautical, and Nautical System and Instrument Manufacturing (334511)
- SIC
- Search, Detection, Navagation, Guidance, Aeronautical Sys (3812)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Autonomy Software, AI & Mission Management (UAS/UXV) (IMABAIAH)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Autonomous Flight Control & Guidance Systems (UAS/Urban Air Mobility) (IMABAFAO), Mine Action & Explosive Ordnance Risk Reduction (EOD/ERW) (BPADAFAH)
Keywords
Where Mine Kafon is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Maastricht
- HQ country
- Netherlands
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices2 records
Markets served
Mine Kafon business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Drone Hardware Sales: Sale of MKD System including MK Destiny, MK Manta drones, ground station, and robotic add-ons. Both drones ready for production. Single drone takes one day to produce in-house. Orders larger than 30 units require outsourcing to OEM partners.
- Product Leasing: Earned funds from leasing products for exhibitions or museum galleries.
- Presentations and Lectures: Revenue from giving presentations and lectures around the world.
- Merchandise Sales: Intention to make Mine Kafon merchandise available for orders.
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels10 records
Mine Kafon product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Mine Kafon develops and manufactures the Mine Kafon Drone (MKD) System, an airborne detection and demining platform that uses the MK Destiny mapping drone and the MK Manta detection drone, along with a multi-sensor payload and interchangeable robotic add-ons, to map, detect, and neutralize landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXO) from a safe distance. The system operates through a three-step autonomous process: aerial surveying and mapping, multi-sensor ground-penetrating detection, and detonation of identified explosives.
Product overview
Mine Kafon is a Dutch humanitarian technology company based in Maastricht that develops the Mine Kafon Drone (MKD) System - an innovative airborne detection and demining solution. The system comprises the MK Destiny surveillance/mapping drone, MK Manta cargo/detection drone, MK Ground Station command centre, and MK Multi-Sensor payload. Three robotic add-ons (MK Rope Robot, MK Delta Robot, MK Gripper Robot) extend the Manta's capabilities for various terrains. The original Mine Kafon Ball serves as an awareness product. The company also developed the MK Emergency Mask during the COVID-19 pandemic. The MKD system offers a three-step automated process for mapping, detecting, and destroying landmines - stated to be 20 times faster and 200 times cheaper than traditional demining methods.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- MK Manta: Cargo drone platform for detection, safety and security, terrain analysis, and cargo delivery operations. Features eight motors, 30-inch propellers, and robotic add-on capabilities.
- MK Destiny
- MK Robotics
- MK Multi-Sensor
- MK Ground Station
- Mine Kafon Ball
Products and services
- Mine Kafon Drone (MKD) System An unmanned airborne detection and demining system combining aerial mapping and ground-penetrating sensors to identify, map, and detonate landmines and unexploded ordnance from a safe distance. The system uses a three-step process: mapping with the MK Destiny drone, detection with the MK Manta drone equipped with multi-sensor payload, and autonomous detonation of detected explosives.
- MK Destiny An intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) commercial drone platform equipped with a high-resolution zooming and mapping camera on a three-axis gimbal. The Destiny drone performs aerial surveys, creates 3D maps of hazardous areas, and identifies dangerous regions for follow-up detection operations. Certified by the Netherlands Aerospace Centre (NRL) with a PH number for international airspace radar tracking. Features X8 motor configuration with RTK positioning, carbon fiber body, autopilot function, Full HD live stream up to 3 km, 35-minute flight time, and 2.5 kg max payload.
- MK Manta
Companies that use Mine Kafon
Customer profileNamed customers1 record
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Mine Kafon technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration5 records
AI capability6 records
Feature7 records
Mine Kafon partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and supportive.
- GICHD (Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining)coreAs humanitarian demining is a top goal, Mine Kafon is proud to be part of GICHD's annual workshops on mine action. Presented at 7th Mine Action Technology Workshop in Basel, Switzerland in November 2019.
- Municipality MaastrichtsupportiveLocal administration has provided continuous assistance and enthusiastic support for the Mine Kafon cause.
- Fontys HogescholensupportiveWith campuses all around southern Netherlands, Fontys has repeatedly supplied Mine Kafon with excellent engineers for their multidisciplinary team.
- Maastricht UniversitysupportivePartnering with a local university that continuously tops world rankings provides great help in development efforts.
- DroneportsupportiveImportant partner situated nearby. Droneport is the place Mine Kafon hosts most of their regional product demonstrations.
- UltimakercoreTop quality 3D printers from Ultimaker have been running almost non-stop for years. Mine Kafon drones wouldn't be the same without them.
- IUT NancysupportiveFrench university partnered with Mine Kafon for international collaboration on development of key components.
- PwC NetherlandssupportiveLocal PwC branch provides quality legal advice as well as growth and direction for the Mine Kafon Foundation.
- Netherlands Aerospace Centre (NRL)coreProvided certification for MK Destiny drone. Long and complex certification process including intensive checks on cable connections, propeller strength, software functioning, and assembly characteristics. Certified with PH number for international airspace radar tracking.
- OEM Sensor Partners (Germany and Sweden)coreMost OEM partners are from Germany and Sweden developing multiple types of top-quality sensors with excellent detection techniques. Mine Kafon co-develops sensors with these partners, each costing several tens of thousands of Euros.
Scale indicators8 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Mine Kafon competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- senseFly: Swiss-based manufacturer of professional fixed-wing mapping drones (a Parrot company). Direct peer because Mine Kafon's MK Destiny mapping drone competes for the same aerial surveying and mapping use cases, including humanitarian and environmental mapping workflows.
- Quantum Systems: German manufacturer of professional VTOL drones used for surveying, mapping, and reconnaissance, including security and defense applications. Direct peer because both companies serve the professional survey/mapping drone segment with carbon-fiber airframes and RTK-grade positioning targeted at commercial and government buyers.
- Delair: French professional drone maker specializing in fixed-wing and VTOL platforms for surveying, security, and defense applications. Direct peer because both companies combine long-endurance mapping airframes with sensor payloads for industrial and governmental end users, including cross-border humanitarian and security missions.
- Emesent: Australia-based developer of drone-mounted LiDAR mapping and autonomy software for GPS-denied and challenging environments. Direct peer because Emesent's autonomy and data-fusion stack (Hovermap) parallels Mine Kafon's AI sensor-fusion mission management layer used to interpret complex, hazardous terrain data.
- APOPO: Belgian/Tanzanian humanitarian NGO that uses trained detection rats to find landmines and TB. Direct peer because APOPO operates in the same humanitarian demining value chain as Mine Kafon, addressing the same end customers (UNMAS, national mine action centers) and competing for the same detection-and-clearance budget pools.
- Clearpath Robotics: Canadian manufacturer of autonomous unmanned ground and aerial vehicles for research, mining, and harsh-environment applications (now a Rockwell Automation company). Direct peer because Clearpath's rugged autonomous platforms target the same unmanned-systems-for-hazardous-environments market segment as Mine Kafon's MKD drones and robotic add-ons.
Broad incumbents
- DJI Enterprise: Enterprise arm of the world's largest commercial drone manufacturer, offering a broad portfolio of surveying, mapping, and ISR platforms used across public safety, agriculture, and infrastructure. Broad incumbent because DJI covers Mine Kafon's mapping and surveillance use cases as part of a much wider product portfolio rather than specializing in demining.
- Parrot SA: French drone manufacturer (parent of senseFly) serving consumer, commercial, and defense markets with micro-UAVs and professional platforms. Broad incumbent because Parrot offers aerial reconnaissance capabilities that overlap with the MK Destiny ISR drone within a far broader consumer-and-enterprise portfolio.
- Skydio: US-based autonomous drone maker focused on inspection, public safety, and defense applications with strong on-board autonomy. Broad incumbent because Skydio's autonomous flight and obstacle-avoidance stack parallels MK Destiny's autopilot/GPS-RTK guidance, but at far broader scale and across many more verticals.
- Teledyne FLIR: US-based manufacturer of thermal imaging, sensor, and integrated payload systems widely used on commercial and defense drones. Broad incumbent because Teledyne FLIR's airborne sensor suites compete for, and often integrate into, the same multi-sensor detection payloads as the MK Multi-Sensor used on Mine Kafon's detection drone.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Mine Kafon social profiles
Digital presenceMine Kafon financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Mine Kafon leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Mine Kafon funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Mine Kafon M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Mine Kafon
What does Mine Kafon do?
Mine Kafon develops and manufactures the Mine Kafon Drone (MKD) System, an airborne detection and demining platform that uses the MK Destiny mapping drone and the MK Manta detection drone, along with a multi-sensor payload and interchangeable robotic add-ons, to map, detect, and neutralize landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXO) from a safe distance. The system operates through a three-step autonomous process: aerial surveying and mapping, multi-sensor ground-penetrating detection, and detonation of identified explosives.
Is Mine Kafon a public or private company?
Mine Kafon is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Mine Kafon founded?
Mine Kafon was founded in 2013. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Mine Kafon based?
Mine Kafon is headquartered in Maastricht, Netherlands, in the Europe region.
How does Mine Kafon make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Drone Hardware Sales are the primary driver. The others are product Leasing, presentations and Lectures and merchandise Sales.
Who are Mine Kafon's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are senseFly, Quantum Systems, Delair, Emesent, APOPO and Clearpath Robotics. Broad incumbents are DJI Enterprise, Parrot SA, Skydio and Teledyne FLIR.
Does Mine Kafon have an API?
No public API is recorded for Mine Kafon.
What industry is Mine Kafon in?
Mine Kafon's product category is Humanitarian Demining Drone Systems. Its primary akta.pro industry code is IMABAIAH, Autonomy Software, AI & Mission Management (UAS/UXV), with a secondary code of IMABAFAO, Autonomous Flight Control & Guidance Systems (UAS/Urban Air Mobility). Its NAICS code is 334511 and its SIC code is 3812.