Counter-UAS News from Around the World
Yahoo: Greenpeace activists ‘crash’ drone into French nuclear plant
Greenpeace activists said Tuesday they had flown a drone fitted out as a flying Superman into a nuclear energy plant in southeast France, aiming to show how the country’s reactors are vulnerable to terror attacks. A video released by the environmental group shows the drone zipping through restricted airspace above the Bugey plant about 25 kilometres (16 miles) outside Lyon before crashing into a building on site.
The video can be found here or here.
Geek.com: Amazon Patent Tips Hijack-Proof Delivery Drones
Amazon last week earned a patent for a proprietary method of detecting and recovering drones from hostile takeovers by “nefarious individuals.” Filed nearly two years ago, the copyright ensures the safe operation of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs)—specifically during deliveries.
sUAS News: Update on ISO Standards for UAS
As the 6th Plenary of the ISO committee responsible for the development of Unmanned Air System (UAS) standards closes, I am delighted to report that Part 3, which will specify the requirements for safe commercial UAS operations will now proceed to the Draft International Stage at date to be confirmed. The release of this document, which is eagerly awaited, will enable industry and the wider community to actively engage and comment to ensure that the final standard is robust and applicable.
Air Force Technology: Lithuania approves updated drone rules on flights over military areas
Approved to ensure enhanced protection of the Lithuanian Armed Forces, the rules have been updated as part of the amendments to the Law on the Organisation of the National Defence System and Military Service in force. The list of military territories and distances limiting the operation of UAVs has also been updated. Any individual who wants to use a UAV over the determined territories can now easily ask for permission from persons responsible for the procedure for every territory.
Popular Mechanics: Stopping Killer Drone Swarms Before They Kill Us
The latest threat for the Pentagon to worry about: swarms of unmanned aerial vehicles designed to overwhelm their under-equipped target. ISIS combatants abroad and hostage takers in the United States have started using squadrons of off-the-shelf drones to annoy, surveil, and even drop munitions. But there’s a new way to fight back. Armed Forces and law enforcement have surprisingly few effective anti-drone tools, and none—that are declassified—to target multiple unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), or swarms. Shotgun shells that fire nets to snare the propellers work only at close range. Missiles, like the $38,000 Stinger, aren’t cost-efficient for taking out $900 drones. And high-power lasers and signal jammers are effective but must be fixed on a target for precious seconds before they disable a UAV. But this spring, Raytheon released details on a new type of drone defense using high-power microwaves (HPM).
C4ISRNet: The Pentagon’s latest budget is its largest counter-drone budget ever
As the Pentagon’s latest budget slouches toward Washington, a $716 billion beast waiting to be born, it is time to take a closer look at how the robots in the budget survived the various committees and drafts. As expected, the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act is a boon for drones, allocating funding for nearly three times as many uncrewed vehicles as in previous years. Most of those new drones are small, cheaper models, which is a trend reflecting in the other big spending increased in this budget: The Pentagon is set to spend almost twice as much on countering other drones in 2019 as it spent on that same in 2018.
Army Times: Study finds these gaps in Army’s small unit counter-drone capabilities
Army units at and below the battalion level are unprepared to defeat aerial drones and current plans can’t keep up with rapidly evolving technology, according to a recent study. Back in 2016, the Army Research Office asked an outside organization, The National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine, to evaluate their counter drone capabilities for battalion and below operations. The report they published earlier this year notes some significant gaps and threats to soldiers with this technology. “Contrary to the past, when U.S. warfighters may have found (improvised explosive devices), now the IEDs will find our warfighters,” according to the report.
Chicago Tribune Opinion: The U.S. isn’t prepared for the growing threat of drones
Drone technology offers the potential to change our world – from enabling historic transformations in e-commerce to faster emergency response. But the technology also has a dark side. It can be used to spy on us, to threaten our critical infrastructure, or to attack crowds and public places. For years, the Department of Homeland Security has worried about the dangers of unmanned aerial systems, and we have sought the legal authority to protect Americans against corrupted aerial devices. Today I have a pressing message for Congress: Time is running out. As secretary of homeland security, I can tell you that threat is outpacing our ability to respond. Without congressional action, the U.S. government will remain unable to identify, track and mitigate weaponized or dangerous drones in our skies.
Bloomberg: Drone Regulations in U.S. Withstand a Hobbyist’s Legal Challenge
The U.S. government’s ability to police hobbyist drone use was upheld by an appellate court Friday in a ruling that helps set the stage for a series of new restrictions and requirements aviation regulators hope to enact soon. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit on Friday rejected arguments by drone hobbyist John Taylor, who last year had successfully overturned the Federal Aviation Administration’s system for registering unmanned aircraft. While the three-judge panel said Congress intended to exempt some hobbyists from regulation — provided they weren’t creating a safety hazard — they denied Taylor’s request to invalidate the rules. “Because the rule is within the agency’s statutory authority and is neither arbitrary nor capricious, the petition for review is denied,” wrote Judge Merrick Garland, who authored the opinion for the panel.
Washington Examiner: Drone activity soaring at the US-Mexico border
As the political clash over the Trump administration’s “zero tolerance” immigration policy has played out on the U.S.-Mexico border, hovering above is the growing presence of drones. These small unmanned aircraft systems are piloted by multiple interests — drug traffickers looking for a way into the country, the U.S. government trying to keep them out, and even journalists hoping to get a new point of view on an issue that has gripped headlines for weeks. U.S. Customs and Border Patrol has increasingly invested in anti-drone technologies as well as their own patrol aircraft. In fiscal 2018, as of March 26, there have been 36 reports of small drone, or small unmanned aircraft system, sightings to the Air and Marine Operations Center along the U.S.-Mexico Border, Jennifer Gabris, a spokesperson for the CBP office of public affairs, told the Washington Examiner via email. By comparison, there were only 19 reports in all of fiscal 2017.
Financial Times: Vodafone develops drone detection system
Vodafone has developed a drone detection system to help stop rogue devices from interfering with buildings such as power plants and prisons. The company expects the system to be fully operational by the autumn, when it plans to sell it to business customers that need to protect sensitive locations, such as airports, power stations or factories.
Defense Connect: Strategic partnership for next-gen fire support drone system
Australian companies Cyborg Dynamics and Skyborne Technologies have signed a strategic partnership to develop the world’s most capable armed tactical micro-drone, the Cerberus UAV, with DefendTex to provide the armament technology. Named after the three headed dog that guards access to the underworld in Greek mythology, Cerberus is the lightest, most efficient drone of it’s type in the world, able to provide direct fire support while remaining man portable, providing operators with a tactical edge on today’s battlefield.
Video can be found here
iHLS: Drones: Opportunity or Strategic Threat?
Along the vast array of opportunities offered by drones in all fields, they also constitute a threat both from the criminal and the terrorist aspects. Drones are used in all fields, from agriculture, building mapping and information gathering, media and entertainment, to policing and security, search and rescue, and commercial uses such as delivery. However, drones also pose a strategic threat to the world, and especially to Israel. Terrorist organizations have understood a long time ago that drones offer advanced technology with low cost, there is no need in training, research and development, and the results can be devastating. They understood that large-scale terrorist attacks can be simply operated in crowded events, airports or sensitive and strategic installations without leaving a trace. An advanced and cheap technology gives the organizations a motivation to operate.