anti-drone
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US Air Force gets its first anti-drone laser weapon from Raytheon
Raytheon has delivered the first anti-drone buggy to the US Air Force, just over year after it introduced the technology. It's a high-energy laser system mounted on a small all-terrain vehicle, to be specific, which uses electro-optical/infrared sensors to detect and track drones. After it identifies and tracks the unwelcome flying device, it then neutralizes it with its laser in a process that takes a few seconds.
Palmer Luckey's company is making drone-ramming drones
Oculus co-founder Palmer Luckey and his company Anduril Industries have drawn flak for their pursuit of controversial government and military contracts, and that uproar isn't about to subside any time soon. Anduril has unveiled the Interceptor, a "counter-drone" built solely to take down other robotic fliers by ramming them at high speed. It requires human operators' permission for takedowns, but can be cued through AI and automatically acquire targets using computer vision. The company is hoping this will protect military units and key infrastructure against hostile drones, whether they're improvised bombers or purpose-built recon vehicles.
US took down Iranian drone using new jammer technology
When the USS Boxer took down an Iranian drone in the Strait of Hormuz, it apparently represented a baptism by fire for new technology. The Wall Street Journal understands that the action was the US Navy's first use of MADIS (Marine Air Defense Integrated System), an anti-drone system adapted for the sea. The technology uses jammers to block a drone's communications and force it to crash. Some versions of MADIS can also fire at the drones, although it's not clear that was the case here.
Heathrow and Gatwick airports buy anti-drone systems after scare
London's airports don't want a repeat of the drone panic that left Gatwick travelers grounded for days, and they're willing to spend loads of cash to keep their skies safe. Heathrow and Gatwick have spent millions of pounds on "military-grade" anti-drone systems in the wake of the scare. It's not clear what they've purchased, but it might be a Rafael Drone Dome system that can jam drone communications. The company told the Times that it had seen interest from UK customers, but it's not clear if that included the two airports.
Raytheon's laser and microwave buggy test brought down 45 drones
This week, Raytheon announced it successfully tested its anti-drone technology. The advanced high-power microwave and laser dune buggy brought down 45 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and drones at a U.S. Army exercise that was held in Fort Sill, Oklahoma.
Swiss cops use anti-drone guns at the World Economic Forum
Swiss authorities have added another security measure for this year's World Economic Forum in Davos: anti-drone guns. Bloomberg has spotted local police preparing HP 47 Counter UAV Jammers to make sure no unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) gets too close to the venue, whether it's sent by a spy organization or just a nosy onlooker. That's the same jammer the German police used in Berlin when President Obama visited the country. The publication says authorities decided to bring in an anti-drone technology, because people with malicious intent could use UAVs to monitor security positions or even to launch attacks.
Anti-drone gun takes down targets from 1.2 miles away
There are numerous systems built to take down wayward or dangerous drones, but they tend to have one big catch: you need to be relatively close to the drone, which could be scary if the robotic aircraft is packing explosives. DroneShield thinks it can help. It's introducing the DroneGun, a jammer that disables drone signals (including GPS and GLONASS positioning) from as far as 1.2 miles away. Like most rivals, it doesn't destroy the target drone -- it just forces the vehicle to land or return to its starting point. Anti-drone teams can not only disable threats from a safe distance, but potentially locate their pilots.
T-Mobile's parent company is launching an anti-drone system
Anti-drone defense systems are about to become big business. T-Mobile parent company Deutsche Telekom has confirmed to Welt am Sonntag that it's developing an anti-drone defense system that should launch this year. It's not discussing details, but it would be offered as a security feature for airports, stadiums and other venues where robotic flyers are unwelcome or outright dangerous. Reportedly, car manufacturers are particularly eager for Deutsche Telekom's help -- they're annoyed by journalists (and no doubt competitors) using drones to snap photos of pre-production cars.
The SkyWall 100 is a net-launching anti-drone bazooka
A group of English engineers have developed a new device for downing quadcopters that stray into restricted airspace: the SkyWall 100. This shoulder-mounted net launcher weighs 22 pounds and runs on compressed gas but does reportedly offer a 100-meter range with an 8-second reload time. What's more, the system uses a "smart scope" that automatically calculates the drone's distance and vector, informing the operator exactly where to aim. The netting will also deploy a small parachute once it wraps up the UAV -- certainly a more gentle alternative to using radio waves or 50mm Bushmasters. There's no word on price or availability yet, beyond assurances by the group that the first models will be available by the end of the year.
