Next Step for Drones: Defending Against Them

Screen shot from included video

Antidrone defense systems are a rising new business as military, aviation concerns mount

The battle of Captieux lasted just a few seconds, and ended in a decisive defeat for the would-be invader.

The enemy drone, flying at a French military installation south of Bordeaux, was easily spotted on radar, an integrated video camera confirmed its identity, and a quick burst from a radio-frequency jammer disrupted its communication signals, diverting the drone from its target.

MBDA in May deployed a laser effector to track and 

defeat a free-flying minidrone. The drone was destroyed 

at a range of about 550 yards, the company said. 

Photo: MBDA

It was the first time a group of small British companies had demonstrated their antidrone defense system on an international stage, said Mark Radford, chief executive of Blighter Surveillance Systems, maker of the system’s radar.

As Amazon Inc. and Google Inc. consider drones for tasks ranging from package delivery to providing high-speed Internet, regulators and military planners worry that low-cost drones, which are widely available for purchase, could pose a threat to commercial aviation, vital infrastructure and even troops.

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The devices, also called unmanned aerial vehicles, tend to be smaller and lighter than their military counterparts. That also makes them harder to detect. Though they have many legitimate applications, in fields such as photography and filmmaking, their rapid spread and potential for misuse has given rise to a new business: developing anti-drone defenses.

A series of incidents in the U.S. and Europe illustrate why. Fire-fighting efforts in San Bernadino this month were hampered by drones hovering over the flames. Helicopters used to battle the fire had to temporarily halt operations for fear of colliding with the drones, a city official said.

In August 2013, a drone overflew the BAE Systems PLC facility in northern England that builds submarines for the Royal Navy. The following month, a minidrone disrupted an election rally for German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

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