![\"dronewatcher-screen\"](\"https:\/\/plsadaptive.s3.amazonaws.com\/site\/resize\/remote\/76fbbabaf2aaff0196bf6c3e93f39713-605x259.png?aoKfdAoN4xvhVkr9b.SArxx3WlMTffSn\" "\\"dronewatcher-screen\\"")
The number of companies offering unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) detection solutions has increased dramatically over the past year. A recent market report estimates that the anti-drone market will grow to almost $1.85bn by 2024<\/a>.<\/p>\nDetection represents only one end of the current investment and development focus within the wider counter-UAS market as the business for countermeasures \u2013 physically stopping or removing the UAS \u2013 is also a key concern for anyone dealing with the security of vulnerable sites and infrastructure.<\/p>\n
The latter remains a difficult market to conquer owing to vast difference and change in global UAS mitigation regulations. The US Federal Aviation Administration, for example, changed its regulations<\/a> in 2016 but intends for this to encourage commercial use of the devices rather than curtail it. Meanwhile, consensus in European Union states has yet to be reached and in light of the UK\u2019s vote to leave the EU, the UK will also be reassessing its laws<\/a>.<\/p>\n Therefore the drone detection niche has, for now, more flexibility to spread its wings. For those with products in this space, the mantra is that there is no mitigation without first locating and identifying the threat as it appears. In many circumstances, this may well be true. By the time a drone has entered an area of interest, it may be too late \u2013 particularly in cases of \u2018swarm\u2019 attacks<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThe key to this problem is situational awareness \u2013 you need to know the threat is there in the first place before you take any mitigation measures at all,\u201d said Martin Lanni, managing director of Quantum Aviation.<\/p>\n \u201cWe don’t need to convince militaries and governments that this is a threat but there is still work to be done to get the resources funnelled to an actual detection and mitigation capability.\u201d<\/p>\n Quantum\u2019s DroneProtect<\/a> solution \u2013 a scalable system offering radio frequency (RF) and Wi-Fi detection \u2013 \u2013 was a spin-off development from air space protection measures introduced during the London 2012 Olympic Games. The benefit of military-level experience allows the company\u2019s risk-assessment service to stand out from many of its competitors.<\/p>\n Quantum\u2019s off-the-shelf equipment is already in production, Lanni added.<\/p>\n \u201cSome of the equipment on the market, if you dig deep enough to find out, turns out just to be a beta version or concept-level equipment that can\u2019t deliver the level of capability that\u2019s often implied.\u201d<\/p>\n With such a variance of commercial drones in existence \u2013 from small range tricopters to heavier duty octocopters \u2013 it is not just a case of fielding a proven capability that matters. Offering a multi-layered approach to detection is becoming fundamental.<\/p>\n Florida-based company DeTect offers DroneWatcher<\/a>, a tiered solution ranging from mobile phone app-based Wi-Fi detection, to RF and even military-grade radar detection.<\/p>\n Like Quantum, the company\u2019s roots began in a different area of situational awareness \u2013 providing birdstrike avoidance radars to military airfields and commercial airports. That high-end capability allows it to detect a common drone \u2013 the Phantom 3 Standard<\/a>, for instance \u2013 at a range of over two nautical miles.<\/p>\n \u201cThe threat of these types of drones will undoubtedly grow as more enter the airspace and as their capabilities continue to increase,\u201d confirmed Edward Zakrajsek, general manager at DeTect\u2019s European office.<\/p>\n \u201cThe size of the drones can make them more dangerous but there is also a risk in extending battery life \u2013 the length and duration they can reach \u2013 as well as the size of the payload they can carry and the fact they are becoming relatively inexpensive. Low cost means an enemy may not care if they can\u2019t retrieve them and are planning on using them for nefarious purposes.”<\/p>\n Despite the innovations being made to develop cutting-edge detection solutions, the counter-UAS market will remain incomplete without a rapid surge forward in mitigation investment.<\/p>\n \u201cMilitary and civilian customers all want the same solution,\u201d said Manuel Pinten, sales manager at Aaronia<\/a>, a company that offers to locate not just the drone but the drone operator.<\/p>\n \u201cThey want a high and wide range, and a 100 per cent guarantee that their system will detect any drone within its parameters. However, at least 95 per cent of our customers don\u2019t just want to detect the drone. It\u2019s not enough to just find the threat \u2013 they also need a countermeasure.”<\/p>\n![\"drone](\"https:\/\/plsadaptive.s3.amazonaws.com\/site\/resize\/remote\/eafed259900ec99e7c741e2862d2dcf5-630x374.jpg?b.k4fETUENKSEY5vb6vzWVoY4dcaRWWQ\" "\\"drone")
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