From AISC
Counter-UAS Portal™ Launch (Newsletter subscribers only)
Counter-UAS News from Around the World
UAS Vision: Successful Operational Demos for HERO-30 Short-Range Loitering System
Man-pack portable, the Hero-30 is the smallest system in the UVision family of smart loitering systems. Deployable within minutes, it is capable of speeds of up to 100 knots and is ideal for anti-personnel missions or against light vehicles. Weighing in at just 3kg, including a 0.5kg warhead, it has a range of up to 40km and an endurance flight time of 30 minutes.
Reuters video: Counter-drone measures try to keep up with the latest technology
For every good application for unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones, there appears to be a company trying to either shoot them down, jam their transmissions or even snag them in a net. Stuart McDill looks at some of the options.
Yahoo: U.S. officials warn Congress on risks of drones, seek new powers
The Trump administration urged Congress on Wednesday to give it new powers to disable or destroy threatening drones, according to testimony viewed by Reuters. David Glawe, undersecretary for intelligence and analysis at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and Hayley Chang, DHS’ deputy general counsel, told the Senate committee that oversees the department that it needs new authority.
KHON Hawaii: Man cited for flying drone above lava disaster area
A California man was cited by the state for flying a drone above an active lava flow. The Department of Land and Natural Resources says an officer was checking barricades in Nanawale Estates when he spotted a red light in the sky. The officer then saw Huawen Wu, 38, flying a drone in a restricted area. The state says Wu was on Nanawale Boulevard and then took Forest Road where he allegedly set up his drone to get aerial photography of an active lava flow. The Federal Aviation Administration is also investigating. At the request of Hawaii County, the FAA placed a temporary flight restriction over a five mile radius of Leilani Estates on May 8.
FYI: USGS Hawaii Volcano Observatory drone video can be found here. It’s great stuff.
UAS Vision: New Man-Portable Passive Drone Detection Platform
ThirdEye Systems Ltd – an innovator in the field of robotic security systems – will present its passive drone detection platform, Meduza, for the first time at EUROSATORY 2018. Based on on-the-fly, real-time thermal computer vision algorithms, Meduza can be installed as a stand-alone unit or as a complementary system to long-range detection systems. Unlike radar, it can detect drones low on the horizon, even against a complex background. The man-portable platform is already integrated with hard-kill systems, so it can shoot down any drone it detects.
Yahoo: Canadian anti-G7 protest thwarted by rogue balloon cam
Canadian anti-G7 activists were on Friday reduced to appealing to authorities or bystanders to return their camera after they lost contact with a balloon deployed to hoist it aloft.
sUAS News: FCC proposes $2.8 million fine against HobbyKing for marketing non compliant drone transmitters
The Federal Communications Commission today proposed a $2.8 million fine against HobbyKing for marketing sixty-five models of devices used to relay video from drones to amateur drone operators which could apparently transmit in unauthorized radio frequency bands, including some that could also operate at excessive transmission power levels. Such unlawful transmissions could interfere with key government and public safety services like aviation systems and weather radar systems.
Comment: The FCC report (found here) is an interesting read for frequency band usage and transmit power.
UAS Vision: AIRFENCE Approved for Procurement by DoD and Homeland Security
In the spring of 2017, the U.S. Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory (MCWL) — via the Defense Department’s Defense Innovation Unit Experimental (DIUx) — engaged in a one-year prototype contract with Sensofusion to develop a ground-based mobile counter-UAS solution stemming from Sensofusion’s pre-existing core product AIRFENCE.
Time of Israel: IDF says it targeted ‘advanced’ Hamas naval capabilities in Gaza airstrikes
The Israeli military on Wednesday night released details on six of the more than 65 sites it bombed Tuesday in the Gaza Strip in response to rocket and mortar fire, saying one target was a collection of “advanced maritime weaponry” that Hamas planned to use for sea-based terror attacks. The Gaza-ruling Islamist terror group has also been suspected of possessing remote-controlled submarines for over a year — since the apparent assassination of a Tunisian engineer credited with helping design them — though the IDF has never publicly acknowledged that Hamas has this capability.
Janes 360: Poly Technologies showcases C-UAV system
China’s Poly Technologies has developed the LANU-M1 vehicle-mounted counter-unmanned aerial vehicle (C-UAV) system. The LANU is designed to be installed on the roof of any vehicle and is claimed to provide on-the-move protection against small UAVs. It can cover three frequency bands, which comprise band 1 (2,400 to 2,485 MHz), band 2 (5,725 to 5,850 MHz), and band 3 (1,559 to 1,620 MHz). These cover 360° in the azimuth, with band 1 and 2 covering 75° and band 3 covering 90° in elevation. Band 1 and 2 have a range of up to 1,000 m and band 3 is effective out to 2,000 m.
Shepard: Silent Hunter counter-UAS laser showcased
China’s Poly Technologies has shown off its Silent Hunter counter-UAS laser weapon at an exhibition in Kazakhstan, China’s Ministry of National Defense announced on 30 May. Silent Hunter is designed to be used by military forces and police for air defense and counter-terrorism operations. The laser weapon can intercept low-altitude, slow-speed and small aerial targets including UAS using anti-jamming technology. The tactical laser weapon can also be used by air defense forces on stationary or moving vehicles or naval vessels.
We Talk UAV: UAV allegedly cuts woman’s nose – Warning: graphic pictures included
On a Friday afternoon on May 25, a drone allegedly struck a woman in the face while she was walking home from work in downtown Salt Lake City, Utah, according to KSL. The woman said she was listening to a podcast with headphones on, so she couldn’t hear the drone fall from the sky. The woman suffered a deep gash on her nose. When she left the area to clean her wound, she returned to find the drone missing.
The National Interest: America Is Not Ready for the Drone Threat
Drones are exploding in popularity, but if certain nefarious individuals have their way drones may soon be actually exploding. There is a real potential for enemies to use drones to harm Americans and damage our nation’s critical infrastructure. Already, overseas terrorists are deploying drone bombers. Domestic criminals are also using drones to commit an array of crimes, including ferrying contraband into prisons, with disastrous consequences. Earlier this month, an FBI official reported that a drone swarm disrupted a hostage rescue operation by driving agents from their observation post.
USNI News: Marines Forward-Deploy Portable Drone-Killing System
Forward-deployed Marines are using a new system to protect U.S. troops from the threat of cheap and lethal unmanned aerial vehicles, the service told USNI News last week. The Marine Corps’ Ground-Based Air Defense (GBAD) Counter-UAS system was developed over the last two years to detect, identify, track and defeat small unmanned aircraft are that are putting forward forces at risk, said Lt. Col. David Sousa, who works in the office of the deputy commandant for combat development and integration.
Defense News: Your quadcopter drone may not survive after the French military spots it
It’s expected the French military will soon receive a system to detect and “neutralize” small civilian drones The Milad mobile anti-drone system, built by Communications & Systèmes, or CS, a specialist in mission-critical systems, is a military version of its Boreades civil system. It’s been adapted to meet requirements set by the Armed Forces Ministry, according to Egidio Cau, a technical director with CS, who spoke to Defense News on May 4.
Executive Biz: CACI Subsidiary to Help Navy Deploy Counter-UAS Tech to Government Sites
A CACI International subsidiary has received a one-year, $48.6 million contract from the U.S. Navy to help the Naval Air Systems Command’s AIRWorks division deploy platforms intended to counter unmanned aerial systems. Six3 Advanced Systems will support the AIRWorks Rapid Development Capabilities Integrated Product Team in efforts to implement new and existing counter-UAS equipment to government facilities that help safeguard national security assets, the Defense Department said Thursday.
Drone Life: Countering Malicious Drones: Drone Stakeholders Comment on Tomorrow’s U.S. Senate Committee Hearing
Tomorrow, the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs will hold a hearing on S. 2836, the Preventing Emerging Threats Act of 2018: Countering Malicious Drones. The proposed Act would grant the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security broad powers to deal with drones that are thought to pose a security risk.
Bloomberg: Senators Back Plan for Disabling Terrorist Drones in Flight
“This isn’t a theoretical threat,” said Senator Ron Johnson, the Wisconsin Republican who is chairman of the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee. “I was shocked that we don’t have the authority to counter this.” Johnson and the committee’s ranking Democrat, Senator Claire McCaskill of Missouri, have sponsored legislation that gives the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice power to monitor drone communications and to bring them down if warranted.
Hearing Webpage with Statements and Video
Heritgate Foundation: Establishing a Legal Framework for Counter-Drone Technologies
As drones continue to proliferate, the counter-drone needs of American law enforcement and national security agencies will only grow. Congress has recognized the problem and, in the 2017 and 2018 National Defense Authorization Acts (NDAAs), afforded limited counter-Unmanned Aircraft System (CUAS) authority to the Departments of Defense and Energy—but more must be done. First, Congress should build on its approach in the 2018 NDAA by extending counter-drone authority to federal law enforcement agencies. Second, Congress should broaden this authority to ensure that all effective counter-drone technologies may be used, notwithstanding other provisions of law, to defend appropriate federal assets and facilities within these agencies’ jurisdictions. Addressing federal CUAS needs is a critical first step, but these authorities should also be extended to state and local law enforcement agencies, as they will ultimately bear the brunt of defending the public from drone-related threats.
GNC: Counter-drone tech needs more testing, experts say
Technology already exists for detecting and disabling malicious drones, but it was developed for the military and will require additional testing before it can be used in the U.S. by civilian agencies, witnesses told a Senate panel. In a June 6 Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing, Chairman Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) said the fact that commercial drones have been used by ISIS to drop grenades on targets and by others to smuggle drugs into the United States illustrates the problems that unchecked unmanned aerial systems (UAS) could create.
You Tube: ASELSAN Laser Wastes Drone