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Counter-UAS News from Around the World
Sport Techie: To Protect Drone Combat, Aerial Sports League Fought Calif. Legislature
“That’s right, spectators can witness two drones going head to head in a fight for aerial dominance. Think of it as a flying version of BattleBots or a Thunderdome with drones — two drones enter; one drone leaves. The goal of the game — commonly referred to as “drone combat” — is to knock the opponent’s drone to the ground three times in a five-minute timeframe. Competitors have 90 seconds to fix their drones when they get knocked down, and they can attack the other drone using brute force or by employing safe weaponry like net launchers or dangling fishing wire.”
Shepard Media: AUSA 2017: US Army to field C-UAS radar
“The US Army’s AN/TPQ-53 radar used to detect and locate enemy in-direct fire is expected to be ready for fielding with an expanded counter-UAS capability next year. The S-band Q-53 radar, developed and manufactured by Lockheed Martin, has been fielded by the US Army since 2010 with over 100 systems now delivered and several used on overseas operations for counter-rocket, artillery and mortar missions.”
WHNT19: Talking drone tries to lure kids from Ohio playground, school says
“Windemere Community Learning Center is a quiet, neighborhood school in Akron, but school officials are on alert after reports of a drone allegedly attempting to lure kids off school grounds.”
Akron Beacon: Couple says voice from drone tried to lure children away from Ellet playground
“Gavin and Jacen said their friends said “what” back to the drone, and the drone told them to follow it. Michael M. said one of the children actually did. The child, one of Gavin’s and Jacen’s friends, started following the drone down the street to Dollar Tree, where the drone voice said it was going.”
You Tube: [Raytheon] Skyhunter Ready For US Army
Drone Life: Drone Operator Interviewed in Blackhawk Helicopter and Drone Collision
““At approximately 7:20 p.m. Sept. 21, the drone, or unmanned aerial vehicle, and the helicopter collided. The Army helicopter sustained damage to its main rotor blade, window frame and transmission deck. A motor and arm from a small drone, identified as a DJI Phantom 4, were recovered from the helicopter,” the NTSB reports. “…In the following days investigators were able to identify and subsequently interview the drone operator. The drone operator also provided flight data logs for the incident flight.””
Aerospace Daily and Defense Report: UAV Jammer Gun Maker DroneShield Seeks Buyer
“DroneShield said Oct. 10 it is actively seeking a larger buyer or other investor for the startup company,…”
Engadget: The rise of drone crime and how cops can stop it
“This isn’t the first time that smugglers have used commercially-available drones to carry contraband. In 2015, the Border Patrol caught a two people dropping off 28 pounds of heroin in Calexico, California, and, in the same year, caught another drug ring delivering 30 pounds of cannabis to San Luis, Arizona. Drones — easy to fly, difficult to spot and far more practical than catapults — are quickly gaining favor among criminals for everything from smuggling and snooping to actively countering police actions and intimidating the locals. But as criminals become more tech-savvy, so too must law enforcement.”
Fortune: Why Commercial Use of Drones Just Hit a Major Setback
“A critical advisory group on regulating the commercial uses of drones failed to reach a consensus on recommended security safeguards, likely hampering the development of the U.S. market for using larger remote piloted aircraft.”
Outer Places: Drone-Killing, Laser-Shooting Dune Buggy Looks Like Something From ‘Mad Max’
“The logic here is simple: Raytheon has taken an enormous weaponized laser, and strapped it to the back of a dune buggy, for the sole purpose of frying drones that might pose a threat to military troops.”
sUAS News: UAS are everywhere, and it takes all types of technology to defeat them
“The munition “hit dirt,” a Pentagon spokesman later told reporters, and a U.S. aircraft shot the UAV down. But the incident, along with a similar shootdown two weeks later, are just recent examples of the threat drones pose to U.S. and allied forces around the world. As the skies fill with everything from powerful Predator-style drones to cheap quadcopters that swarm, surveil and attack, ground troops need options to fight the full range of threats in this new era of the UAV.”
Vertical: U.S. Army awards Leonardo DRS contract for production of counter-drone capability
“Leonardo DRS has been awarded a production contract from the U.S. Army, under an urgent operational need, to develop a comprehensive counter-unmanned aerial system (C-UAS) capability to protect soldiers from enemy drones. This contract follows an earlier award for similar prototype capabilities, and is worth up to $42 million.”
CNBC: This high-tech surveillance system can detect and take down intruding drones
“SkyDroner, made by Singapore-based security device developer TeleRadio, is a surveillance system designed to detect unwanted drones. But that’s not all: Upon command, it can actually take control and land the unmanned aircraft. The system can prove useful in protecting events, ports, homes of public officials, prisons and critical infrastructure.”
Business Journal: SRC TO HIRE MORE THAN 80 AFTER WINNING THREE COUNTER-DRONE TECHNOLOGY CONTRACTS
“SRC Inc. is seeking to fill more than 80 positions after winning three contracts focused on counter-drone technology.”
UAV Expert News: Meet The Firefly – A 3D Printed Titanium Mach 0.8 Rocket Drone
“3D printing gives manufacturers the power to create parts that cannot be built cost-effectively with other processes. In this video, Mark Kirby, manager of additive manufacturing at Renishaw Canada, shows off a special project for a North American aerospace customer: the Firefly, a 3D printed titanium rocket-powered drone that can fly at nearly supersonic speeds, with onboard telemetry and a spring-released wing.”
UAV Expert News: Identify And Track Airborne Drones With AeroScope From DJI
“DJI has developed a new solution to identity and track airborne drones with existing technology that can address safety, security and privacy concerns. Meet AeroScope.”