Counter-UAS News from Around the World
You Tube: ROTEM [Armed Multirotor Test]
Israel Aerospace Industries completes POC of the ROTEM with successful demo
U.S. News & World Report: Los Alamos Lab Deploys Drone-Disabling System
One of the country’s premier nuclear weapons labs now has the capability to disable drones or any other unauthorized unmanned aircraft systems flying over its restricted airspace in a swath of northern New Mexico. The Los Alamos Monitor reports officials at the Los Alamos National Laboratory say they’re testing the new system that could serve as a model for other federal installations. Michael Lansing, the head of the lab’s security operations, says they have the ability to disrupt and seize control of a drone or use force to take it out. The lab worked with the National Nuclear Security Administration and the Federal Aviation Administration to implement the system. Systems are planned for the sites in Texas, Tennessee and Nevada.
Jerusalem Post: Palestinians Prep 5,000 Kite Bombs In Gaza To Mark End Of Ramadan
The IDF struck a target in the southern Gaza Strip on Thursday, two hours after it fired warning shots in the same area toward Palestinians who were preparing airborne incendiary devices near the Bureij refugee camp. “The IDF struck an infrastructure near the area where a squad had previously been preparing Molotov cocktails in the southern Gaza Strip,” the IDF said. “The IDF considers the use of incendiary kites and balloons to be severe, and will act to prevent their use.”
The Drive: This Tiny Missile Smashes Incoming Artillery Rounds, Drones, And Possibly Much More
The U.S. Army has awarded Lockheed Martin a $2.6 million contract to continue development of its Miniature Hit-to-Kill interceptor, or MHTK. The service is interested in using the weapon to help troops on the ground knock down incoming artillery projectiles and small unmanned aerial vehicles, but the tiny missile, or other designs leveraging some portion of its technology, could possibly evolve to take on other roles.
Business News Australia: Aussie drone defence company lands historic deal in the Middle East
Sydney-based drone defence company DroneShield has completed the largest order in its history, selling a record number of its tactical DroneGun products to the Middle East. The deal, which is also reportedly the largest known order of its kind in the world, is worth $3.2 million and involves the sale of 70 DroneGun units to a classified allied country in the Middle East.
sUAS News: DroneCatcher – drone interception
Today it is easy and cheap to buy a drone. Drones have created new ways for smugglers and can be easily used to disturb public order and security. With DroneCatcher this can now be countered in a fully controlled manner. The DroneCatcher system is one of the very few counter-drone systems, which is capable of eliminating rogue drones by catching and removing the threat in the air and by bringing it to a harmless place. DroneCatcher is initiated by Delft Dynamics, supported by the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee (Military Police), the Dutch National Police and the Dutch Ministry of Safety and Justice.
UAS Vision: Dubai Civil Aviation Authority Implements Civilian Drones Tracking System
Eighty-seven million passengers passed through Dubai International in 2017, making it one of the busiest airports in the world. So when there’s a hiccup in operations, the effect can be profound. Shutdowns can cost the airport as much as $1 million a minute, and in recent times drones have been a big issue. Drone incursions into airport airspace were responsible for three shutdowns in 2016 — one for as long as 90 minutes. To counter the problem, the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority (DCAA) has implemented Skytrax, a system that monitors domestically registered drones to prevent shutdowns.
UAS Vision: Rafael Unveils New Tactical Loitering Weapon System for Urban Warfare
Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd. has unveiled a new variant in its Spike family of precision engagement weapons systems designed for light maneuvering ground forces. The weapon, known as FireFly, was designed for dismounted soldiers fighting in urban areas where precision is critical, but the enemy is behind cover and the soldier’s situational awareness is limited.
I24 News: Netanyahu says use of drone-tech by terror groups a ‘true nightmare’
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that the use of drone technology by terrorist groups is a “true nightmare” and served as the biggest challenge to security forces around the world. “This is the ultimate distribution of technology down to the level of individuals. You don’t need vast state apparatus, you don’t need the foreign intelligence services of superpowers, you don’t need anything,” the prime minister said at the International Homeland Security Conference in Jerusalem, addressing security officials from nearly 20 nations.
Newsweek: ISIS THREATENS WORLD CUP ATTACKS WITH VIDEO SHOWING STADIUMS IN FLAMES
The Islamic State group has released a new video threatening to attack the World Cup as hundreds of thousands of fans travel to Russia for the opening fixtures of the tournament. Wednesday’s propaganda reel shows a drone with an ISIS logo flying over the Olympic village in Sochi as its stadiums and other buildings burst into flames, according to the Middle East Media Research Institute monitoring body.
The video and a quick summary can be found on the AISC website.
Shepard: Eurosatory 2018: Anti-drone systems continue proliferation
The proliferation of counter-unmanned aerial system (C-UAS) technology continues across Europe with multiple new solutions unveiled at Eurosatory in Paris, France. Elbit Elisra, MBDA and Aselsan all revealed new details regarding various solutions aimed at protecting forward deployed forces from small, low and fast-moving threats. MBDA unveiled the integration of a C-UAS capability into its Licorne C2 system which is already used to support Very Short Range Air Defence (VSHORAD) operations. The concept demonstrator comprised the integration of HGH’s Infrared tracking camera; a Sagem electro-optical camera; and Konsortium Engineering Activities System’s (KEAS’s) UAS jammer.
The National Interest: A Terrorist’s Dream: How Twitter and Toy Drones Could Kill a Lot of People
In late April, a toy drone buzzed past the palace of the king of Saudi Arabia, leading Saudi security forces to shoot down it down. Online, a story spread quickly across the Internet that the Saudi royal palace was under siege and a full-fledged coup was in progress. Given the recent crackdown and imprisonment of wealthy and influential Saudis engineered by Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, the news was believable—at least initially. But in the end, just like the commercial drone, the story of the coup plot was also shot down, proved to be false and just another piece of the ubiquitous disinformation flotsam populating the World Wide Web.
Bellingcat: First ISIS, then Iraq, now Israel: IDF Use of Commercial Drones
Over the last two years we have observed large increase in the use of commercial off the shelf drones (COTS) in conflict by both state and non-state actors, whether that be the Islamic State, the Iraqi Federal Police, or the multitude of other users across the world. Recently we have seen Israel join other state-level actors in using COTS drones, in this case as a tool for deploying tear gas and disabling fire kites sent aloft by Palestinian protestors, as well as observation platforms. Although Israel has long been a user of military drones, in 2017 it also appears to have purchased “hundreds” of commercial DJI Matrice and Mavic drones, some of which allegedly were allocated to the Border Defence Force.
C4ISRNET: Pentagon suspends commercial drone purchases and use
The commercial quadcopter is a small computer with rotors. Cheap, versatile, and adapted for everything from peacetime wedding photography to battlefield improvised explosive device, quadcopters open up the possibility of aerial scouting and attacks to any military, uniformed or otherwise, with a few hundred dollars and the ability to charge batteries. Behind that low cost is a price deemed unacceptable, at least at present, to the Pentagon: all those flying computers, the overwhelming majority of which are made in China, could be a vector for cybersecurity risk. On May 23rd, the Department of Defense sent a memo out immediately suspending the purchase and use of commercial drones, until cybersecurity concerns could be addressed.