Counter-UAS News from Around the World
iHLS: Will Anti-Drone Gun Become Civilian Weapon?
“The rapid pace of the anti-drone tech growth is impressive. While some drone guns shoot actual ballistics in hopes of damaging any unwelcome aerial visitors, most modern anti-drone guns use signal-jamming frequencies to confuse the incoming UAV. When a drone’s radio signals are interrupted or continuously jammed, the UAV either lands as a precautionary measure or returns back to its origin.”
Digital Journal: Gryphon Sensors Partners with WhiteFox Defense Technologies on its Skylight® Counter-UAS System
“Gryphon Sensors, a world leader in intelligent drone detection and safe unmanned aircraft system (UAS) airspace integration, is excited to partner with WhiteFox Defense Technologies (WhiteFox), a proven drone analytics and mitigation provider. Under this partnership, Gryphon Sensors is integrating WhiteFox’s non-jamming, non-kinetic mitigation and analysis capabilities with its Skylight system. The resulting RF-based sensor-driven system provides an industry leading unclassified and exportable counter-UAS system.”
MIT Tech Review: Cyberwarfare is taking to the skies, aboard drones
“Hovering computers will make it increasingly possible to hack equipment that doesn’t connect directly to the internet.”
sUAS News: SOFWERX ThunderDrone RPE II: C-SUAS
“SOFWERX is part of USSOCOM’s efforts to combat a growing concern with counter unmanned aircraft systems. From the http://www.sofwerx.org/ website: “Under agreement with USSOCOM, the Doolittle Institute implemented SOFWERX as a public facing intermediary to assist with collaboration, innovation, prototyping and exploration with industry, labs and academic partners. SOFWERX currently has three facilities, 1) a ~35,000 sf facility design for a range of collaborative efforts and rapid prototyping, 2) a ~10,000 sf facility designed for collaboration, innovation, and modest rapid prototyping, 3) and a 4,000-square foot garage designed for rapid prototyping with modest collaboration and innovation capabilities. All are located in Tampa, Florida.”
sUAS News: DroneShield Rolls Out Revolutionary Compact Radar – RadarZero
“DroneShield Ltd (ASX:DRO) (“DroneShield” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce the launch of RadarZero, a revolutionary compact drone detection radar product. At roughly the size of a paperback book, the product can detect drones up to 750m away and sells for a fraction of the cost of the larger longer-range more conventional radars.”
PJ Media: ISIS Video Depicts Jihadists Waiting West of Paris for Attack on France
“The video opened with a man visiting an ISIS social media account on a computer and a recording of deceased ISIS spokesman Abu Muhammad al-Adnani: “The time is now — we want Paris before Rome and before al-Andalus, after we make your lives miserable and bomb your White House and Big Ben and Eiffel Tower.” Sacking Rome has been a cornerstone of ISIS theology since the beginning of the caliphate. Showing a map of France, the group showed a rendering of a drone approaching Paris from the southwest, “type: al-Burraq,” which is a drone used by the Pakistani Air Force, “belonging to the caliphate army – location: the western countryside of Paris.”
Market Watch: Exclusive: Only one drone pilot has ever been busted for flying without a license—he got a warning
“In 2016, the Federal Aviation Administration shook up the drone industry by requiring that drone pilots obtain a license if they want to operate commercially. After years of preparation and debate leading up to the licensing rules, it doesn’t seem that the FAA is aggressively using them to crack down on commercial pilots operating illegally. So far, the FAA has caught and punished only one drone pilot for operating a drone business without a license, according to documents obtained by MarketWatch through the Freedom of Information Act. The punishment? A warning notice.”
UAS Vision: Armed Stinger UAV at Singapore Airshow 2018
“ST Kinetics showed its armed Stinger UAV, part of its advanced soldier system, at Singapore Airshow 2018. Far from being a conventional UCAV, this is essentially a double quadrotor UAV that mounts a 5.56mm Ultimax light machine gun.”
Altus Times: Recreational flying of UAS is prohibited on base
“The recreational use of Unmanned Aerial Systems, also known as drones, have been suspended on Altus AFB until further notice. Aircraft that fall under the definition of a UAS include, but are not limited to, quadcopter, multicomputer and model airplane. Previously, recreational flying of these systems were allowed on base within designated areas.”
CNBC: Israel launches heavy Syria strikes after F-16 crashes
“Israel said the F-16 crashed during a mission to strike Iranian drone installations in Syria. It said it sent its jets into Syria after shooting down an Iranian drone over Israeli territory earlier on Saturday. srael said one of its attack helicopters shot down an Iranian drone at around 4.30am (0230 GMT) that had come from Syria into Israel. “In response, the IDF (Israel Defence Forces) targeted Iranian targets in Syria,” the military said.”
Washington Examiner: Treasury sanctions ISIS drone czar
“The move will freeze the U.S. assets of a Yunus Emre Sakarya, who has procured more than $500,000 worth of unmanned aerial vehicles for ISIS since 2015, when the group controlled broad swaths of Syria and Iraq. The sanctions designation was announced as part of a broader effort to crack down on ISIS aides around the world.”
Ottawa Citizen: Canada’s Defense Department wants help tracking drones
“The Canadian government is looking for technology from domestic firms that might help the Department of National Defense in efforts to track unmanned aerial vehicles.”
The American Conservative: Inside the Chilling World of Artificially Intelligent Drones
“On the night of January 5, something took place that has never happened before. A swarm of DIY drones attacked two military installations in Syria. The 13 crudely made aircraft, which were powered by small gas engines and flew on wings fashioned from laminated Styrofoam, zeroed in on their targets: the vast Russian army base at Khmeimim and the naval base at Tartus on the Syrian coast. Bombs packed with the explosive PETN and shrapnel were secured to their wings. The radar signature of the drones was minimal and by taking advantage of a cool night, they were able to fly at low altitudes and avoid detection. It is unclear whether or not the drones were able to communicate with one another and thus behave as a swarm. What they did do was to approach targets at different angles and altitudes in an attempt to confuse Russia’s air defense systems.”
Shepard Media: Singapore Airshow 2018: Region moves on civil UAS regulation
“Countries in the Asia-Pacific region are moving ahead with alternations and additions to existing regulatory practices governing the civil and commercial use of unmanned systems, mirroring and in some cases improving on similar efforts in Europe and the US.”
Lincoln County Central: Newly Requested No-Fly Drone Zone a No-Go
“The Air Force is now very concerned about people flying unmanned aircraft, drones too close to the Nevada Test and Training Range (NTTR). It has asked the Lincoln County Board of Commissioners to amend the Unmanned Aircraft Ordinance by adding a rebuttable presumption of illegal intent to the operation of unmanned aircraft within two miles of the NTTR.”
Techradar: DJI institutes no-fly zones for its drones around Winter Olympics locations
“DJI drone owners looking to get a remote-controlled glimpse of their favorite Olympic skier had best stick to their local stream or broadcast. Throughout the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang, South Korea this month, drones manufactured by DJI will be restricted by no-fly zones from the opening ceremonies until the event ends.”