Explained
What the terms mean, how the technology works, and who is permitted to use which part of it.
- What counter-UAS means Counter-UAS covers everything from detecting an unmanned aircraft to bringing one down. The parts are governed by different law, and conflating them is the most expensive mistake buyers make.
- How drone detection works Five methods detect drones and each fails differently. What radio frequency, radar, acoustic, optical and Remote ID actually see, and why detection is the part a private operator may lawfully deploy.
- The SAFER SKIES Act, explained The SAFER SKIES Act gave state, local, tribal and territorial agencies counter-drone authority for the first time, under a two-tier certification framework with obligations that continue after certification.
- Anti-drone technology Anti-drone technology spans detection sensors, physical barriers, electronic defeat and kinetic defeat. They differ less in effectiveness than in who is legally permitted to operate them.
- Drone detection radar Radar detects the aircraft itself rather than its transmissions, so autonomy does not defeat it. Its difficulties are physical, and siting matters more than the specification sheet.
- The counter-drone supplier landscape How the counter-drone supplier market divides, what separates a sensor manufacturer from an integrator, and the questions worth settling about any vendor before a procurement begins.
- Drone jammers A jammer breaks the radio link between a drone and its operator. The engineering is simple, the legal position is not, and for most organisations asking about one the answer is that they may not operate it.
- Anti-drone guns Anti-drone gun describes two very different things, one a directional jammer and one an actual firearm. Both are restricted, and shooting at a drone engages aviation criminal law rather than firearms law.
- Drone interceptors An interceptor is a drone sent to stop another drone, by net, by impact or by proximity. Battlefield use has moved fast; civilian availability has not, and the reason is authority rather than engineering.
- Anti-drone lasers and microwave Directed-energy systems defeat drones with a laser beam or a microwave pulse. Both are real and both are military. The interesting difference between them is single target versus many.
- Radio-frequency drone detection RF detection listens for the radio links between a drone and its operator. It is passive, often long-range, and can frequently locate the operator as well as the aircraft.
- Acoustic drone detection Acoustic sensors identify a drone by the sound of its rotors and motors. The method is inexpensive and entirely passive, with short range and a strong sensitivity to ambient noise.
- Camera and thermal drone detection Cameras confirm what another sensor has found. They provide identification and evidence that radar and RF cannot, and they are poor at searching open sky without cueing.
- Remote ID Remote ID is a broadcast identification signal from compliant drones. Receiving it is the cheapest form of airspace awareness available, and it only shows the operators who are complying.
- What drone detection costs Detection costs vary by an order of magnitude depending on method and coverage. The items most often missing from a first quotation are integration, installation and ongoing support.
- How to specify and evaluate a system A specification built around site requirements rather than product features produces bids that can be compared and an award that holds up under scrutiny.
- Drone defence Drone defence is used loosely for everything from a receiver that notices an aircraft to a military air defence programme. The distinctions matter because they determine what an organisation can actually buy.
- Drone sightings and how to handle them Most reported sightings are lawful activity or something misidentified. A short written procedure covering what to record and who to tell is more useful to most organisations than equipment.
- Counter-drone in the United Kingdom The UK counter-drone strategy prioritises terrorism, crime in prisons and disruption to critical national infrastructure. Prisons are where the measured problem is largest.