civilians all over the globe. Go to any beautiful beach destination and you will find people flying drones in a bid to take amazing aerial shots.
The number of drones has increased exponentially over the years. It’s estimated that by the year 2020 there will be a whopping 7 million drones in the United States alone.
While there is no denying the convenience of drone technology. The sheer number of drones in the sky warrants the implementation of anti drone technology to keep sensitive areas secure. Most military bases and other sensitive government buildings already have anti drone technologies to keep unauthorized drone intrusion at bay. Following are a few popular anti drone techs that effectively take down drones gone rogue. However, it needs to be said that a lot of these technologies are not available for civilians yet.
Signal Disrupting Gun: As you might have guessed it, this is a gun that disrupts the signal of an unauthorized drone. This involves a security officer pointing a gun at an invading drone and bringing it down safely and unharmed. The gun emits a jamming signal that disrupts the signal between it and the controller. Once the signal is disconnected, the gun safely guides the drone down before it’s confiscated by ground security forces. While this anti drone technology is effective, it relies on a security personnel’s ability to detect and aim the gun.
Anti-Drone Laser: ATHENA short for Advance Test High Energy Asset, is a laser gun developed by Lockheed Martin. Coupled with a drone-detecting radar, which acquires the target, ATHENA destroys invading drones by projecting a high-powered laser beam. ATHENA is by all means a military technology and is not practical for civilian use. Not only is it more expensive but the power of destroying a drone or operating a laser weapon is best left in the hands of the military. Destroying drones also destroys the evidence of intrusion which can lead to unnecessary legal hurdles.
Anti-Drone Drone: Believe it or not there is a drone that’s specifically built to bring down other drones. Attached with a net gun the drone chases rogue drones and fires a net to capture them. Bringing the drone down safely, this ensures evidence of aerial intrusion is not lost. However, this requires significant drone flying skills and with no detection system, this is definitely not foolproof.
Automatic Drone Detection and Neutralization System: This anti drone technology employs a signal jammer and a radar to detect drones. Working in tandem with the radar, the RF signal jamming unit locks on to the target and disrupts the link between the drone operator and the drone. Some units such as the Israeli Skylock anti drone system come equipped with a laser gun. This gives the user an option to either neutralizing the drone without causing it to harm or destroying it. Requiring minimal skill and effort this system provides a complete protection. The technology also doesn’t rely on visual detection, which makes it much more effective.
