Drones / Unmanned Aircraft Systems have globally established themselves as core components of the fourth industrial revolution and they are bringing the next big tech revolution around the globe with reduced costs, resources and time taken for operations. They offer immense opportunities for economic growth and employment generation. 

Recognizing this fact and also as a result of the valuable feedback received from academia, industry and other stakeholders, the Government of India has now proposed Updated Draft Drone Rules, which will soon replace the earlier Unmanned Aircraft System Rules (UAS Rules) that came into force on 12th March, 2021.  This will pave the way for drone taxis and dedicated corridors for cargo deliveries. “Digital Sky Platform” – a secure and a scalable platform that supports drone technology frameworks is also being developed to ensure a business-friendly single-window online system with minimal human interference.

Already more than 400,000 drones are sold each year worldwide, which means, a potential threat for society and critical infrastructure. As the drone industry is taking off, some individuals and groups have started using drones for malicious purposes around the globe. On one hand, Drones offer immense opportunities and, on the other hand, pose immense security risks. Drones are generally very small, almost invisible to all detection methods, very cheap and can be used by criminal elements for surveillance, supplying contrabands and to conduct terrorist activities such carrying explosives to cause destruction.  Drones can carry payload i.e., explosives, they can be equipped with camera 4 K HD and they are capable of streaming of video. 

The security agencies in India are aware of these risks and threats. They have no choice but to add an additional layer of defense with technology that automates and gives an advantage to them to manage the threats posed by drones. Military is usually aware of the drone threats and have good knowledge of the counter – measures. However, this is a new chapter for the non-military security agencies who are primarily responsible for the protection of civilian areas. 

So, how do we manage this new big “Drone” risk? The answer is “With effective and accurate Anti-drone systems”. In fact, “Anti-drone Systems” are now a non-negotiable.

There are two parts to an “Anti-drone System”; Detect and Defend.  

The Detection part consists of Radars to detect and track the drone, Radio Wave Receivers to get the geolocation, altitude and Unique Identification Number and EO/IR Trackers to get the exact image of the drone. 

The defense commonly know as Neutralization consists of Jammers and Spoofers. Other part of the defense is “Destroyers” or “Hard Kill” options such as Laser/ Pellet Gun/Micro Wave/Electro Magnetic Pulse Guns etc. However, law prohibits use of some of these.

There are quite a few “Anti-drone Systems” available across the world including India. I had an opportunity to deal with a few from Israel. Israel, as a nation has many conflict zones in its territory and as a result, over a period of time they have built some of the best “Anti-drone Systems “in the world. These systems are well proven.

So, “Drone” risk is definitely serious. The risk mitigation element is an” Anti-drone System”.  Therefore, evaluation and selection of the” Anti-drone System” is the crux. 

The evaluation of “Anti-drone System” is a complex process and various factors need to be considered. Some of them are Surveillance Capability, Direction Accuracy, Tracking Accuracy, Detection Range for various types of drones, Detection Frequency, Capability to jam Swarm of Drones, Ability to distinguish between Friend and Foe, Control Mechanism etc. 

From my perspective, additional critical factors that must be taken into consideration are Cutting Edge Technology, “Best of Breed” nature of product, Number of Installations and Proven Success Record.