Loitering Munitions Create Urgency For Counter-Drone Tech.

• Author: Easley, Mikayla

PARIS--Loitering munitions--a marriage of small drone technology and explosives--are becoming more sophisticated and deadly, prompting a surge in the market for counter-unmanned aerial systems.

From the post-9/11 wars in the Middle East to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in the Caucuses, small drones have proliferated on battlefields as both reconnaissance tools--and lately--as a stealthy means to deliver munitions.

During the Eurosatory international defense conference in Paris, several companies showcased counter-UAS technologies that can detect and neutralize enemy drones.

"We have been witnessing the growing demand for anti-drone systems and technologies," said Meni Deutsch, the regional director for Europe at Skylock Anti Drone Technologies. The company is a subset of the Israeli-based technology company Avnon Group and specializes in counter-UAS capabilities.

"Drones in general are changing constantly," Deutsch said at the trade show. "They pose big threats, because today, drones are so accessible, so available, that even a 10-year-old child can buy it on eBay."

Counter-drone technologies are innovating just as rapidly as the aircraft. Common systems use jammers to block radio frequencies or spoofers to send fake GPS signals that mimic a drone's intended target. Systems can come in a variety of platforms--including short-range handheld jammers, laser neutralizers and systems that cover large areas to provide continuous protection.

Peter W. Singer, senior fellow at the New America think tank, and the author of books on robotics and warfare, said there is a battlefield calculus to counter-drone systems.

"There is a cost imposition," he said. Will a military spend millions to shoot down an inexpensive, small drone? And, of course, once a counter-drone system has been deployed, the defender has revealed his position, which could be a bad move.

"It is a threat, but it is cheap compared to your highly expensive responses," Singer said.

One of the technologies Skylock has developed is the VIP Dome, which acts as a miniature version of Israel's Iron Dome, Deutsch said. The system's 360-degree radio frequency detector and internal GPS can detect drones and send automated commands to its jammers, which then block communication channels between the threat and its operator.

"Any drone that gets close, his brain will be hijacked by this very unique technology and then pushed back immediately," Deutsch said. The dome is ideal for military bases...