Counter-UAS News from Around the World
Bloomberg: The Military Is Using Falcons to Build a Drone Killer
“It turns out that many of the skills feathered predators use to find a tasty lunch can be applied to the developing field of drone defense. A U.S. Air Force-funded study by zoology researchers at Oxford University suggests that the means by which a peregrine falcon tracks its quarry could be effective in defending against drones that threaten troops, police or airports.”
NY Times: IATA Seeks Strong Law Enforcement to Deter Irresponsible Use of Drones
“Law enforcement authorities must play a strong role to ensure there are suitable deterrents in place for those flying recreational drones to prevent danger to passenger aircraft, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said on Tuesday.”
Defense Blog: South Korean Army to form weaponized drone unit next year
“The Army plans to set up a special organization to lead the development of dronebots, establish a standard platform and expand the dronebot program by function,” the Army official said, requesting anonymity. “To begin with, we will launch a dronebot combat unit next year and use it as a ‘game changer’ in warfare.”
Drone Life: DJI Introduces Voluntary Flight Identification Options For Drone Pilots
“DJI released the following today. Drone operators can now take advantage of the DJI’s AeroScope technology. There has been some debate over the merits of the technology. But the proof is in the pudding and here is an opportunity to test it for yourself. Whether this becomes a standard is yet to be seen and many enthusiasts are less than enthusiastic over the prospect of a “license plate” system. But there will be a standard and there will come a day when drones will be identifiable.”
You Tube: Introducing DroneSentinel and DroneSentry (November 2017)
C4ISRNET: US Strategic Command wants weapons to jam adversary drones
“ELTA North America has been awarded a contract through the Air Force for adaptive anti-drone equipment. Under the undefinitized contract action, not to exceed $39.2 million, ELTA will provide “counter-unmanned aerial systems in support of U.S. Strategic Command joint emergent operational needs,” according to the Department of Defense contract announcement.”
Egypt Independent: New law prohibits drone use without Defense Ministry approval
“Egypt’s parliament approved a new law during Tuesday’s general session which prohibits the use or possession of unmanned aerial vehicles, commercially known as drones, without a license from the Ministry of Defense.”
UAS Vision: Hensoldt Demos New C-UAV System
“HENSOLDT demonstrated counter-UAV measures using a combination of radar, RF and optical sensors and a targeted jammer to representatives from the police, industrial companies, airport operators and armed forces. For this, the individual elements of the system were positioned in such a way as to ensure optimum surveillance of the whole area. This involved seamlessly integrating Xpeller into the airfield’s infrastructure and proving its compatibility with all the other local systems. Xpeller also managed to reliably detect UAVs starting from different locations. The visitors considered it to be a particular success that the HENSOLDT system was able to reliably detect even extremely small UAVs at a distance of several kilometres and to identify them as threats.”
NBC: How bug-delivering drones are helping defeat deadly diseases
“And now WeRobotics, a technology company with offices in Wilmington, Delaware, and Geneva, Switzerland, has teamed up with the Insect Pest Control Lab of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna, Austria, to develop autonomous drones that will release millions of sterile male mosquitoes over areas where mosquito-borne illnesses like Zika fever are endemic.”
Ed. Note: Seems like a good way to deliver infected insects as well
Defense Daily: SOFWERX To Host Counter-Drone Demo
“SOFWERX, a Florida-based experimentation hub created by the nonprofit Doolittle Institute and U.S. Special Operations Command, plans to host a series of demonstrations next year to assess technology that industry has developed to counter small unmanned aircraft systems.”
Janes 360: US Army seeks air defense and C-UAV system for Stryker vehicles
“The US Army is looking for an interim close-in air defence and counter-unmanned aerial vehicle (C-UAV) system to field on its Stryker wheeled infantry carrier and reconnaissance vehicles. A request for information (RFI) for 72 Interim Maneuver Short-Range Air Defense (IM-SHORAD) systems was issued by the service on 5 December to determine if there were any sources that would meet its specific requirements.”
Jane’s 360: BAE Systems providing C-UAS prototype to USN for Mk 38 testing
“The US Navy (USN) is expected to issue a sole source contract to BAE Systems to add a counter-unmanned aerial systems (C-UAS) capability to the Mk 38 MOD 2 25 mm gun weapon system. BAE Systems will design and produce four prototype Mk 38 MOD 2 anti-UAS kits and then conduct performance testing of the system at navy test ranges.”
Techcrunch: Trump signs bill reinstating the FAA’s drone registration requirement
Digital Trends: Researchers wreck hundreds of drones in the name of safety
“If Amazon ever gets its way and fills the skies with thousands of delivery drones, the worst thing that can happen to us folks on the ground is for one of them to lose control and fall on our head. The potential for accidents goes some way to explaining why the Federal Aviation Administration has been proceeding so cautiously when it comes to loosening regulations for businesses and organizations keen to make use of drone technology. And that’s exactly why researchers are hard at work looking into the effects of drone crashes and how drone design can be improved to lessen the effects of any unfortunate impact.”
The Cipher Brief: Next-Gen Drones: Making War Easier for Dictators & Terrorists
“The introduction of armed unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) permanently altered the modern battlefield. New technological advances in drone technology could do it again: from advanced materials that allow drones to fly, roll, run or swim in less forgiving environments, to thinking software than makes them more independent, to stealth technology that renders them even less visible. On the positive side, the intelligence that drones provide helps focus lethality on the intended target and limit the risk of civilian casualties and friendly fire incidents. But drone advances also will get cheaper to copy, so non-state actors will be able to employ them as well, giving insurgents or terrorists an outsized advantage. “
Engadget: Dutch police retire convocation of drone-catching eagles
“Police in the Netherlands may have been a tad too hasty in testing a squadron of drone-catching eagles. NOS has learned that Dutch law enforcement officials are retiring the birds (they’re going to new homes) and winding down the program. Not surprisingly, the decision is a response to both actual demand as well as the performance of the birds themselves.”
Wired: Tracing ISIS Supply Chain
“A conventional war required conventional arms—mortars, rockets, grenades—which, as an international pariah, ISIS could not buy in sufficient quantities. Some they looted from the Iraqi or Syrian governments, but when those ran out they did something that no terrorist group has ever done before and that they continue to do today: design their own munitions and mass-produce them using advanced manufacturing techniques. Iraq’s oil fields provided the industrial base—tool-and-die sets, high-end saws, injection-molding machines—and skilled workers who knew how to quickly fashion intricate parts to spec. Raw materials came from cannibalizing steel pipe and melting down scrap. ISIS engineers forged new fuzes, new rockets and launchers, and new bomblets to be dropped by drones, all assembled using instruction plans drawn up by ISIS officials.”
Reuters: South Korea conducts anti-terror drills ahead of Winter Games
“Set to host the Winter Olympics in February, South Korea conducted a series of security drills on Tuesday to prepare against terror attacks ranging from a hostage situation, a vehicle ramming a stadium and a bomb-attached to a drone.”
Defense Daily: Drone Sighting At Air Force Bomber Base Shows Need For Defenses, General Says
“A recent drone sighting at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri underscores the need for the Air Force to continue developing systems to counter unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) that trespass on its installations, according to a four-star general. “That got real to us not too long ago with Whiteman,” said Gen. Robin Rand, commander of Air Force Global Strike Command. “It’s not just down range over in the combat zones.””
Washington Post: Microbes by the ton: Officials see weapons threat as North Korea gains biotech expertise
“Five months before North Korea’s first nuclear test in 2006, U.S. intelligence officials sent a report to Congress warning that secret work also was underway on a biological weapon. The communist regime, which had long ago acquired the pathogens that cause smallpox and anthrax, had assembled teams of scientists but seemed to be lacking in certain technical skills, the report said. “Pyongyang’s resources presently include a rudimentary biotechnology infrastructure,” the report by the director of national intelligence explained. A decade later, the technical hurdles appear to be falling away. North Korea is moving steadily to acquire the essential machinery that could potentially be used for an advanced bioweapons program, from factories that can produce microbes by the ton, to laboratories specializing in genetic modification, according to U.S. and Asian intelligence officials and weapons experts.”
You Tube: FASTEST RC TURBINE MODEL JET IN ACTION 727KMH 451MPH FLIGHT TRAINING WORLD RECORD TRAINING
State of Georgia: Alarm Alerts Staff to Drug-Carrying Drone at Autry State Prison
“On December 4 at 11:53 p.m., the DroneTracker alarm, a newly piloted system, at Autry State Prison (SP) sounded. While there was no sighting of a drone by staff; an inner and outer sweep of the facility was conducted and officers recovered two packages containing a large amount of marijuana left behind by the drone.”
AUVSI: State Legislative Map for Laws Involving Unmanned Systems
BBC: Ten sentenced for smuggling drugs into prisons by drones
“Former armed robber Craig Hickinbottom, 35, organised the flights from behind bars, Birmingham Crown Court was told. His gang put prohibited items worth an estimated £1m into jails as far apart as the West Midlands and Scotland. The packages were attached to fishing lines and flown over prison walls. Nine others were also sentenced. The group were convicted of organising 49 drone flights, although police believe the actual number may be higher. They were also found guilty of four “throw-overs” – with one of the gang, Craig Hickinbottom’s brother spotted on CCTV with an improvised hook, ready to collect the goods from inside prison.”
The Times of Israel: Wayward drone briefly grounds flights at Ben Gurion Airport
“All flights to and from Ben Gurion Airport were briefly grounded late Tuesday night after a civilian drone strayed into the airfield’s airspace, causing “a direct risk to the airplanes,” the Israel Airports Authority said Wednesday morning. The UAV was spotted at 11:45 p.m., initiating an immediate shutdown of Ben Gurion’s airspace and delaying all arrivals and departures for 15 minutes, the authority said in a statement.”
Fox News: Drone operator faulted in NY collision with helicopter
“A recreational drone operator was at fault in the first confirmed midair collision in the U.S. between a drone and a manned aircraft, the National Transportation Safety Board said Thursday.”
Drone Life: Hong Kong Eyes New Rules on Recreational Drones
“The world’s most populous country may be headed for tougher rules on drones, as citizens and lawmakers become more concerned about the safety and privacy risks of recreational UAVs. “As drones have become more affordable, accessible and sophisticated, it is unsurprising that regulations have not kept up with operator trends and habits – particularly those of recreational users,” says an editorial in the South China Post. “But it is worrying that the sharp rise in recreational drone flying coincides with a number of reports of collisions and near misses between drones and passenger aircraft around the world.”
UAS Vision: Passenger Spots DJI Phantom on Approach to LAX
“Melbourne-based photographer Simon Pollock was landing at Los Angeles International Airport on Wednesday when he looked out his window and spotted a DJI camera drone flying just a small distance away. “Drones. All fun and games until you’re looking out your window on approach to LAX and you spot a Phantom just out your window (yeah a few hundred feet, but imagine if it… well…),” writes Pollock in a Facebook post. “Some people are utterly stupid.””
The Hill: We can’t wait until the first attack to regulate drones
“The time is now. We cannot wait any longer. We must consider drone control at the local, state and national levels. We must think about empowering law enforcement to defeat drones, and we should consider building a national registry and certification requirement for certain sizes and capabilities of drones.”
Scout.com: CentCom Request: Army Fast-Tracks Counter-Drone Weapons to War
“The US Army is accelerating a number of emerging counter-drone weapons in response to a warzone request from US Central Command – to counter a massive uptick in enemy small-drone attacks in Iraq and Afghanistan.”
Ed. Note: This is a very import point from the article.
“Forward bases will no longer need to defend only against insurgent-type mortar attacks but may likely operate in a much higher-threat environment involving long-range, precision-guided ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drone-fired weapons, among other things.”