In a world where drone use is becoming more frequent, governments across the globe are investing in security measures.
DroneShield, an Australia-based drone detection solution company, has announced the sale of its DroneGun tactical drone jammer to the government of an unspecified Western-allied Middle Eastern country. It will be used as a test unit initially, but there is potential for a large-scale order to outfit the country’s military with counter-drone abilities if all goes well, the company says.
Additionally, this is the “first reported sale of a tactical drone jammer product to a Middle Eastern government by any supplier,” it says in a Feb. 23 press release.
“We are glad to both be on the right side of the fight against terrorism and deliver commercial success to our shareholders,” DroneShield’s chairman, Peter James, adds.
The DroneGun uses DroneShield’s sensor network and acoustic detection technology that, with high accuracy, can recognize and distinguish the unique sound emitted by common unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) while listening to surrounding activity.
It takes a sound sample when it thinks a drone is nearby, and then compares this sample to DroneShield’s database of acoustic signatures. If there is a match, “the system issues an alert and records identifying information about the aircraft,” the company says on its website. Alerts can be via SMS, email or existing video management systems.
It takes control of the drone and forces it to land in a safe manner, which is why the DroneGun can be used effectively against payloads such as explosives or biohazards.
The rifle-shaped tool is highly mobile and weighs around five kilograms, so it can be used while on patrol, inside vehicles, or near base entrances.
DroneShield says that its product is affordable – with its price in the “tens of thousands of dollars, rather than hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars, per unit” – which allows governments to use DroneGuns in a more widespread way.
This sale comes as a result of “rapidly rising terrorist activity, including ISIS formally announcing last month the establishment of a new ‘Unmanned Aircraft of the Mujahideen’ unit, a fleet of modified drones equipped with bombs,” DroneShield says.