Countering drones via radio frequency
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One company is developing an approach to detecting unwanted drones by their radio frequencies and disabling them by disrupting command links.
As inexpensive unmanned aerial systems become more popular, so too do counter-drone systems that can neutralize the devices to protect critical installations or assets.
While some companies use a variety of passive and kinetic measures for countering UAS, Alion Science and Technology Corp. relies exclusively on passive measures -- either to return an aircraft to where it came from or to commandeer the drone and force it to land at a safe location.
Exactly how the technology commandeers and deflects drones in flight is Alion’s “secret sauce,” the company’s lead developer of the platform, Bill Senich, told GCN. Because of patents pending on technologies associated with the counter-UAS system, the company was unable to provide specific details. Senich did say, however, that the system is still being tested and won’t be ready for commercial sale for at least another six months.
According to a company whitepaper, the solution uses a four-pronged approach to countering unwanted incoming drones: detect the presence of an incoming aircraft, block the connection of the UAS to its operator, establish a new command and control link to the UAS and finally, fully control the UAS to send commands for a graceful landing.
Unlike many counter-UAS systems that use radar detection, the Alion system detects incoming drones primarily by their radio wave emanations, although it could be deployed with a radar detection system. Based on the type of aircraft detected, the system can make a proper determination of how to engage it, Senich said.
The system can also be designed with as much or as little autonomy as desired; however, in a flight safety scenario, Senich said, it is important to have a human in the loop to make the final call on how to engage an incoming aircraft.
So far Alion has only tested the system’s detection at a distance of 500 feet; however, the goal is for a range of 1 to 1.5 miles so that the system can be deployed on an airport approach path or at an airport perimeter.
The system has also been demonstrated in a variety of environments, but the key will be working out the deployment scheme. One of the outstanding issues, Senich said, involves antenna placement and direction for optimal detection.