Counter-UAS News from Around the World
Reuters: U.S. agency seeks new authority to disable threatening drones
The head of the U.S. Homeland Security Department on Tuesday told Congress that the agency needs new legal authority to track threatening drones and disable or destroy them if necessary. Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen told the Senate Homeland Security Committee that DHS needs “clear legal authority to identify, track and mitigate drones that could pose a danger to the public and to DHS operations.” “Our enemies are exploring other technologies, too, such as drones, to put our country in danger. ISIS has used armed drones to strike targets in Syria, and we are increasingly concerned that they will try the same tactic on our soil,” she said.
The Dubrovnik Times: Relaxation of laws of flying drones in Croatia
Drones and companies using drones for video and photo footage has been a boom business is Croatia over the past few years. However, due to extremely tight restrictions put in place by the Croatian Civil Aviation Agency (CCAA) more and more calls have been coming from drone users to relax some of these rules. At the first ever drone festival to be held in Croatia, the Osijek Drone Expo, last weekend the CCAA took the opportunity to announce a few rule changes.
Defense Blog: Raytheon ATVs armed with laser weapons will blast drones out of the sky
This is an ingenious way to provide easily movable defense against the growing threat of attacks from enemy drones. Terrorist drone destroying Raytheon laser weapons mounted on military Polaris Defense ATVs could soon be destroying enemy drones before they can harm U.S. forces with explosives.
Los Angeles Times: AeroVironment employees accused of carrying loaded military drone on commercial airline
AeroVironment Inc. has been accused of trying to conceal that employees transported a drone rigged with explosives on a commercial flight and then retaliated against a manager who told the government. In April 2015, AeroVironment workers traveled to Los Angeles from Salt Lake City on a Delta Air Lines flight with at least one of them toting an explosive-laden drone in a carry-on bag, according to a lawsuit in Los Angeles County Superior Court. There were about 230 civilian passengers aboard, the April 18 complaint says.
Maritime Bulletin: Turkish bulk carrier attacked
Turkish bulk carrier INCE INEBOLU reportedly was fired upon or hit by missiles by Saudi forces while trying to approach port of destination Saleef (Hodeidah), Yemen, with 49770 tons of wheat on board, being authorized by UN Verification and Inspection Mechanism for Yemen (UNVIM) office in Djibouti, after the required inspection. Understood the wheat originated from Russia, and was loaded in Novorossiysk. The ship was fired upon on most probably, May 10, while approaching Saleef.
UK Daily Mail: Israel builds a unique 20ft high ‘missile net’ on border to defend its new airport
Part of the new segment is accompanied by a 26-metre ‘net’ developed specifically to protect the new Ramon airport. The missile fence is designed to intercept projectiles and surface-to-surface missiles, the official told AFP.
Nanalyze: 14 Anti Drone Technology Startups to Watch
Drone DJ: IDF develops Shoko drone to drop skunk water bags on protesting Palestinians
In recent weeks we’ve seen the Israel Defense Forces use drones in a variety of ways. The unmanned aerial devices have been used to shred ‘fire kites’ to pieces or to take them down with fish hooks and lines. We have also seen the Israeli Army use them to spray tear gas or to drop tear gas canisters on to crowds of protesting Palestinians. In an effort to avoid injuries among the protesters, the IDF has now come up with a new method, a drone that drops bags of skunk water to disperse crowds. The so-called Shoko drone.
The Moscow Times: Russia to Deploy Anti-Drone Units at World Cup Stadiums, Reports Say
The Russian military reportedly plans to deploy electronic warfare assets to protect World Cup stadiums from potential drone attacks this summer. Russia’s National Guard has said that it will use video surveillance drones to detect unruly fans in crowds at the June 14-July 15 championship. Analysts have warned that returning Islamist fighters could pose a threat to the tournament. Russian General Staff chief General Valery Gerasimov ordered troops to field anti-drone defense capabilities at the World Cup, a Russian Defense Ministry source told the RBC business outlet Monday. Moscow will be outfitted with four land-based units with the potential to disrupt enemy drones, while St. Petersburg and Yekaterinburg will receive three each, the unnamed Defense Ministry source said. The source also told RBC that the Federal Security Service (FSB) will deploy 60 of its own mobile drone-jamming units.
UAS Vision: FAA Modifies Restrictions on Drones over DoD Facilities
At the request of the Department of Defense, and Federal security and law enforcement agencies, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has been using its existing authority under Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations § 99.7 – “Special Security Instructions” – to address the potential threat posed by malicious drone operations by establishing Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) specific airspace restrictions over select, national security sensitive locations.
sUAS News: UK – 30% increase in drone complaints
In the UK there were recent press headlines suggesting there has been upwards of a 30% increase in drone complaints to the police, this was prompted by Freedom Of Information (FOI) requests that were compiled into a blog by a Dr Alan McKenna. As part of the blog there was a negative and irrelevant commentary on drones, for example, citing a claim about a Russian hobbyist building a rig to specifically climb to heights not seen with off the shelf consumer drones. Also a case was discussed where a drone was used to smuggle contraband yet there was no commentary to detail the fact there are many cases of contraband smuggling by prison staff due to low wages, a BBC report has suggested up to five staff in every prison are corrupt, meanwhile 1000s of prison staff were responsible for misconduct before consumer drones were a thing. In a nutshell, drones have become a convenient smokescreen for the low wages of prison staff, contraband was in prisons well before drones existed.
The Warzone: Israel Uses Drone Racers To Down Incendiary Kites And Drones To Dispense Tear Gas Over Gaza
The age of low-end drone warfare is officially upon us, and nowhere is this reality being made more apparent than along the Gaza-Israel border. Weeks of violent protests by Palestinians along the fenceline have given birth to ‘incendiary kites’ as a robust asymmetric warfare tactic that we detailed in a previous piece. Now Israel is putting hobby-like drones to use to knock down those flaming kites, and even to release tear gas on protesters from across the fenceline.
GCN: Predicting the casualties that drone crashes can cause
As agencies, industry and researchers prepare to integrate drones in the national airspace, they’ve been working on technologies and polices that advance beyond visible line of sight flying, protect against mid-air collisions and keep people on the ground safe when unmanned systems are flying overhead. In a new request for quotations, NASA is asking for risk management and decision-making tools that can help it accurately estimate the casualties and fatalities caused by a drone that crashing into a populated area. Currently, NASA said it is using county-level 2010 census data to calculate the number of people it projects would be affected by a crash along a drone’s flightpath. But because drone operators change flight plans, people on the ground move from place to place throughout the day and data from location-based services varies, NASA wants technology to help it “estimate updated dynamic population data throughout the flight at more refined area of interest.”
Muraselon: Russian Hmeimim Airbase Attacked By Terrorist Drones
The Russian Hmeimim airbase in Latakia province has reportedly come under attack by a terrorist drone armed with small bombs according to local sources. The Russian air defenses around the Airbase were ready and fired Towards unmanned air vehicle (UAV) before it could reach the military site say sources. The source told Muraselon that the Russian air defenses launched 4 missiles Towards the Terrorist Drones