Counter-UAS News from Around the World
Energy Manager Today: How To Develop a Smart Drone Strategy: Q&A with Department 13
“In the next 10 years, the sky will be full of drones,” predicts Jonathan Hunter, CEO of Department 13, a publicly traded company based in Columbia, Maryland, that is developing commercial counter-drone technology. “It will be just as common to see a drone as it is to not see a drone.” Hunter spent 20 years working in defense, federal law enforcement, and the commercial sector. He’s a former US Army explosive ordnance officer with several deployments to Afghanistan and Bosnia. Those experiences provided knowledge around electronic warfare and informed his approach to drones, he says. Department 13’s Mesmer system can detect and mitigate drones in national security and defense situations. The low-power technology allows for safe takeover to prevent drones from harming people, damaging infrastructure, or stealing intellectual property. Given the growth of commercial drones, especially within the energy sector, we caught up with Hunter to find out how energy managers can develop smart strategies around deploying drones — and protecting against nefarious ones.
Shepard: Kongsberg and team develop C-UAS system
Kongsberg Geospatial, Echodyne Corp and uAvionix have joined forces to develop a new counter-UAS (C-UAS) system called Argus, Kongsberg Geospatial announced on 26 April. The Argus C-UAS is a portable 3D radar system that can detect small UAS flying at long ranges within a monitored airspace. It integrates the Echodyne MESA radar with uAvionix cooperative aircraft tracking capabilities, displayed via the Kongsberg Geospatial Iris situational awareness application, providing all weather coverage and accurate positioning of airborne targets.
sUAS News: Open FLARM UAS eID Standard published
The open FLARM UAS eID standard (download) builds on the proven FLARM protocol with over 35.000 installations in manned aircraft worldwide. Based on proven vehicle-to-vehicle radio technology, it offers unparalleled scalability while not requiring any infrastructure or expensive cellular modems. Secure signatures based on public-key cryptography offer a significant advantage over other proposals. The standard implements key requirements of the EASA, FAA and national regulations drafts. It is designed to be simple to implement, cheap to build, easy to test, free of licenses. Manufacturers can use existing radio hardware, or inexpensively add the required COTS hardware to start using the standard.
Defense One: A Criminal Gang Used a Drone Swarm To Obstruct an FBI Hostage Raid
Last winter, on the outskirts of a large U.S. city, an FBI hostage rescue team set up an elevated observation post to assess an unfolding situation. Soon they heard the buzz of small drones — and then the tiny aircraft were all around them, swooping past in a series of “high-speed low passes at the agents in the observation post to flush them,” the head of the agency’s operational technology law unit told attendees of the AUVSI Xponential conference here. Result: “We were then blind,” said Joe Mazel, meaning the group lost situational awareness of the target. “It definitely presented some challenges.”
BBC: Drones used to disrupt FBI hostage situation
Quartz: Watch: In the world’s largest drone performance, some machines went rogue
A Labor Day celebration display created by over a thousand drones dotting the night sky in the Chinese city of Xi’an should have been a sight to behold. And for the 100,000 or so spectators, it was—but not necessarily for the right reason.
Proactive Investors Australia: Department 13 International to launch counter drone system in South Korea
Department 13 International Ltd (ASX:D13) has signed an exclusive distribution agreement with Korea Counter Terrorism Solutions (KCTS), a leading distributor of counter-terrorism solutions in South Korea. D13’s MESMER™ counter drone system is a non-jamming drone mitigation solution providing a safe and effective method of protecting personnel and infrastructure from dangerous drones.
Security News Desk: Gradiant technologies arrive in the US
In this international and specialized scenario, Gradiant is showcasing Counter UAS, a system that comprises a suite of technologies for unmanned vehicles threat detection, classification, tracking and neutralization. This system, specially designed for critical infrastructure protection and a perfect match for other surveillance scenarios, is modular, scalable and decentralized. Counter-Fi detects and neutralizes UAVs using WiFi as communication systems. RF Ear sensor uses signal intelligence techniques to detect drones by using its own communications link. Smart Eye is a module based on passive EO/IR sensors, able to work as both primary or secondary sensor for automatic UAVs detection, tracking and classification on fixed and moving cameras. SJam is an adaptive waveform generator for neutralizing drones.
AINonline: Mobile Drone Defeat System Marketed To Airports
The X-Madis—expeditionary mobile air defense integrated system—is integrated into a light pickup truck and features the Rada RPS-42 pMHR radar for detection, the Ascent camera system CM-202U EO/IR multi-sensor gimbal for identification, and the Sierra Nevada SkyCap counter UAS electronic Mode E jammer. It is priced at approximately $800,000 and has a range of about two to three miles and can be operated while the host vehicle is in motion at speeds up to 40 mph. It requires a crew of two—a truck driver and a system operator.
The Hill: Legal framework for counter-drone operations is critical to the future
They’re technically known as small unmanned aircraft systems, or “UAS,” but to most people, they’re simply drones. They’re proliferating in the U.S. and around the world, as entrepreneurs put them to increasingly complex and beneficial uses. Unfortunately, terrorists and criminals are exploiting the technology, too. And U.S. law enforcement and national security agencies lack the ability, and clear legal authority, to effectively counter new airborne threats. Congress should act so that critical infrastructure, sensitive facilities, and the public are not left vulnerable.
The Drive: Palestinians Now Sending Waves Of Incendiary Kites Across Gaza Border
As part of the latest flare-up (literally) in the never-ending Palestinian-Israel conflict, kites carrying incendiary payloads are being sent from the Gaza Strip into Israeli territory, setting off a scourge of highly destructive fires. One blaze in the Be’eri Forest has been particularly devastating. Agricultural lands have also been set on fire by the wind-carried improvised weapons in recent days. Launches of burning kites have coincided with a rash of violent protests near the border fences that separate Gaza from greater Israel. Referred to collectively as the “Great March Of Return,’ these demonstrations have turned deadly, with some reports stating that 7,000 Gazans have been injured and 45 killed as a result of skirmishes with Israeli forces
UAS Vision: Dedrone and the University of North Dakota to Advance Counterdrone and Airspace Safety Research
Dedrone has announced a partnership with the University of North Dakota (UND) unmanned aerial systems (UAS) education program. The installing of Dedrone’s UAS detection technology will improve safety and security for UND’s current UAS flights, and expand opportunities for research and training in the university’s Counter UAS and data driven curriculum.
Flight Global: USAF teaching dogfighting to small autonomous drones
The US Air Force Academy is attempting to teach autonomous unmanned air vehicles when to perform combat manoeuvres used by fighter pilots to counter potential swarms of adversarial UAVs. The activity builds on a US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency-sponsored unmanned air systems swarm competition staged last year between the US Military Academy, Naval Academy and Air Force Academy, says Del Christman, assistant professor at the USAF Academy, who leads research on the project. During that competition, student fixed-wing and quadcopter drones autonomously shot a virtual weapon to hit a sensor on an opponent’s UAV in flight.
Wired: LOCKHEED’S DRONE-SPLODING BABY MISSILE WEIGHS JUST 5 POUNDS
When it comes to missiles, you wouldn’t expect something the size and shape of a collapsed umbrella to rank among the fiercest. Especially when you hear the high-pitched noise it makes when it launches. But Lockheed Martin thinks its Miniature Hit-to-Kill missile could stand guard at military bases, embassies, or anywhere else American forces need defending against everything from rocket attacks to mortar launches to bomb-carrying drones.
Maritime Journal: ISPS CODE FAILS TO CONTEMPLATE AERIAL THREATS FROM DRONES SAYS MARTEK
Vessels in port, at anchor or on coastal transits are potential ‘sitting ducks’ and currently powerless to know if/when they’re going to be attacked, let alone be in a position to defend against the threat. The ISPS code Part A para 1.3.3 mandates requirements, “preventing the introduction of unauthorised weapons, incendiary devices or explosive to ships” and Ship Security Plans need to address counter measures to protect from such threats. The problem is that, up until now, aerial threats from drones have just not been considered.
Cision PR Newswire: Digital Global Systems to Showcase Advanced Anti Drone Technology at NCS4 UAV Innovation and Technology Forum
Digital Global Systems (DGS) www.digitalglobalsystems.com will participate as a sponsor at NCS4 UAV Innovation and Technology Forum to be held at The University of Southern Mississippi on May 15 and 16, 2018. Attended by senior stadium security directors, law enforcement personnel, emergency managers, and athletic administrators, the UAV Innovation and Technology Forum will explore how UAV technology can influence safety and security operations based on current and impending threats.