As commercial drones continue to expand and drone technology evolves, drone misuse remains a significant risk factor for the burgeoning industry. We asked D-Fend to review last year’s anti-drone technology and let us know what happens in 2023. Here, CMO Jeffrey Starr covers notable drone incidents, discusses key developments in the cUAS industry, and explains what the requirements are. change.
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Below is a guest post and conversation with Jeffrey Starr, Chief Marketing Officer of D-Fend Solutions, a leader in radiofrequency cyber-based anti-drone technology. DRONELIFE DOES NOT ACCEPT OR DELIVER PAYMENTS FOR GUEST CONTRIBUTIONS.
this week, D-Fend Solution‘Main product, Enforce Air,received 2023 Intersec Homeland Security/Service of the Year Awards At the 2023 Intersec Expo at the Ritz-Carlton DIFC in Dubai, UAE on January 18. EnforceAir joins his four other finalists within the homeland security and defense sector and was selected by a rigorous panel of judges. Homeland Security Product/Service of the Year selection criteria are innovation, performance, installation, manageability, value, and industry appeal. Recognizing outstanding achievements in people, products and companies, the awards attracted approximately 1,300 entries across 10 categories.
2022 Review: Dronelife Q+A
What are the notable drone incidents of 2022?
Drone adoption accelerated at a relentless rate in 2022. While new drone applications have grown and flourished across the industry, dangerous incidents have also caught up. The use of drones by carelessness, ignorance, criminals and combatants continues to plague the new drone economy and society. In 2022, rogue drone incidents were constantly making headlines, demonstrating the pervasiveness of these new risks.
The 2022 incident also made us realize the urgent need for safe and surgically accurate drone mitigation methods to protect high-risk urban and sensitive environments. Dangerous drone incidents have become very common and are deployed in many different situations. This facilitates vulnerability in these worrying scenarios in unlicensed airspace. At D-Fend Solutions, drone incident tracker As an industry resource to inform public safety, homeland security, and defense stakeholders about public domain incidents involving unlicensed UAVs.
Our team has observed an increase in disruptive conditions at airports. These incidents are becoming increasingly common in tandem with the proliferation of large-scale drones, and can have unpredictable consequences.
In July 2022, drone sightings at Reagan Washington National Airport, just miles from the Department of Defense and the White House, caused a 13-minute flight suspension and a 45-minute delay in normal operations . The accident caused 90 flights to be delayed and 7 flights to be cancelled. Just a month later, a drone hit the front glass of a Delta Air Lines plane landing at Florida’s Orlando International Airport within eight feet of him. In December, the crew of a Spirit Airlines flight spotted a drone flying 300 feet below as the flight approached the runway at Maryland’s busiest Baltimore/Washington International Airport.
A near-miss incident or even the mere presence of an unlicensed UAV at an airport can have a significant impact on operations. They also carry the risk of direct and collateral damage, while having the potential for significant economic impact.
Another type of illicit drone incident on the rise is the heinous act of smuggling contraband across borders, even in confined prisons. In April of this year, gun traffickers used large drones to smuggle 11 of his handguns from the United States to Canada. In March, a man was arrested after using a drone to try to smuggle $286,000 worth of drugs into Collins Bay Prison in Canada. In June, prison officers at the Federal Detention Center in Miami, Florida (FDC Miami) reported multiple drone attempts to smuggle contraband into the prison.
One of the most important aspects of domestic C-UAS protection is the defense of critical infrastructure sites. Drone accidents in such environments can disrupt civil life and escalate into extreme situations that threaten people’s safety.
In 2022, multiple drone sightings were reported at a Louisiana chemical facility and pipeline, raising the alert level for espionage and terrorism. In the latest incident in July, multiple drones were spotted flying several feet above a chemical plant in Louisiana.
These various incidents represent concrete examples of events that are occurring consistently today. It is clear that this is a global problem that requires urgent attention for policy and technical measures.
What were the key C-UAS developments in 2022 from a government policy perspective?
In 2022, the White House introduced the Counter-UAS Action Plan. In this regard, Congress has introduced legislation to protect our homeland from threats from unmanned aerial systems, including many practical and necessary steps and measures to combat the accelerating risks of dangerous UAVs. These factors elevate the country’s C-UAS posture to a higher level of preparedness, resulting in a more methodical and in-depth defense.
The proposal includes multiple steps in many domains and specifically touches on the following areas:
- Delegate and extend UAV detection and mitigation latitude to state and local levels.
- Supporting technological innovation that prioritizes safety and continuity and faces threats head-on.
- Focus on defending critical infrastructure sites, including the placement of secure C-UAS systems.
- Incident tracking and recording in a huge database.
These proposals represent measures that should be urgently passed and implemented. They also need to be applied in a wide range of ways that optimize their impact on reducing hazards and ensuring safety as much as possible. Along with all these measures, the extension of mitigation capabilities to the same extent as detection agencies should also be considered. This considers the entire incident lifecycle for the safest possible outcome.
The Anti-UAS Action Plan and the Safeguarding the Homeland from Threats from the Unmanned Aerial Systems Act proposed many necessary measures to combat the increasing risk of rogue drones. These actions could lead to some degree of increased national anti-drone preparedness, greater resilience, and a more comprehensive defense. Enhancing and strengthening these permits and plans for both detection and mitigation will enable new drone applications to thrive. It also protects people and critical assets from the increasing danger of unauthorized or exploited UAVs.
How are C-UAS requirements changing?
Armed forces, homeland security agencies, and law enforcement agencies often implement conventional base air defenses. They continue to play a role in defense-in-depth strategies, but may fall short in today’s urban and other sensitive environments.
When it comes to detection, radar can show false positives due to various flying objects such as birds, and optical solutions may not work effectively without a clear line of sight. Acoustic solutions are also problematic in noisy environments and quiet UAVs.
In terms of mitigation, jamming-based solutions only work for short periods of time when they are on and can seriously disrupt communications and operations. Dynamic solutions are dangerous in densely populated areas because they carry the risk of collateral damage.
A new generation of anti-drone measures must reduce the risk of unauthorized drones safely landing in predefined safe locations to control the threat. Governments and security agencies are looking for new jamming and non-dynamic solutions that do not require line of sight. Distinguish between licensed and unlicensed UAVs, ability to operate in autonomous mode, various deployment configurations for overall operational flexibility, and integration with a variety of multi-vendor command and control systems An open API for is an all-important requirement.
Finally, modern C-UAS systems must stand up to and overcome state-of-the-art proprietary drone protocols and serve as countermeasures against modern long-range drones. These solutions must be able to quickly divert threatening drones to safe routes and safely land them in pre-defined safe zones. This technique must be effective against flocks. Different environments require different antennas. Installation should be very quick and painless, have low power requirements and a small form factor.
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Jeffree Star is the chief marketing officer of D-Fend SolutionHe brings a track record of generating revenue and building market leadership through visionary business strategies, inspiring marketing and insightful direction for rapid and sustained growth. Fast growing companies in the information, security, compliance and risk management space including AlgoSec, Cellebrite, Verisk 3E, Magic Software Enterprises and Amdocs have hired Jeffrey as his CMO and board member. Jeffrey also served as an analyst at Mission Ventures VC fund general his partner Booz Allen. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Columbia University and graduated with honors from his MBA from his Harvard Business School.
Miriam McNabb, editor-in-chief of DRONELIFE and CEO of professional drone services marketplace JobForDrones, is a fascinating observer of the emerging drone industry and drone regulatory environment. With her 3,000+ articles focused on the commercial drone space, Miriam is an international speaker and recognized figure in the industry. Miriam has a degree from the University of Chicago and high tech she has over 20 years of experience in sales and marketing new technologies.
For drone industry consulting or writing, please email Miriam.
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