The system is called the Anti-UAV Defence System — or AUDS — and is designed to stop drones and other UAV’s (unmanned aerial vehicles) from entering restricted airspace.
The FAA selected the AUDS, a British counter-UAV technology as part of the agency’s Pathfinder program. The fully integrated system was developed by three British firms — Blighter Surveillance Systems, Chess Dynamics and Enterprise Control Systems, with the support of Liteye Systems Inc in Centennial, Colorado, reports Financial News.co.uk.
According to the designers, the AUDS can detect, target and disable an incoming drone from six miles away, effectively preventing the UAV from entering restricted airspace. It does this by first tracking the UAV using both standard and infrared cameras.
Once the rogue drone is identified, a directed energy jamming signal is fired, disabling the drone’s controls. The AUDS operator is also able to “basically hijack” the drone, safely landing it outside the airport’s perimeter. According to one of the developers, Blighter Surveillance Systems, the disabling of a drone can be done in as little as 15 seconds.
Because the system is mostly automated, it provides 24/7 surveillance in any kind of weather and won’t interfere with existing airport communications networks, reports Seeker.com. Over 400 hours of live testing against a varied number of drones in different conditions was carried out. according to team representative Mark Radford in press materials released with the announcement.
“These trials confirmed that our production system was able to detect, track, disrupt and defeat a wide range of micro, mini and larger unmanned aerial vehicles or drones — even on unscripted sorties,” Radford said.
Marke “Hoot” Gibson, an FAA senior adviser told the BBC, “Sometimes people fly drones in an unsafe manner. Government and industry share responsibility for keeping the skies safe, and we’re pleased these three companies have taken on this important challenge.”
