Speaking of new technologies, the Battelle DroneDefender™ is an accurate and easy-to-use handheld device for protection against small UAS devices. It has the appearance of a space age rifle and uses radio control frequencies to disrupt drones in the air. Designed for use by authorized federal authorities under a strict permitting process, several units have already been deployed by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Department of Defense. The DroneDefender™ is both lightweight and portable.
Battelle’s web site, www.battelle.org, in promoting the DroneDefender™, notes that “… traditional defense mechanisms against UAS, such as shooting them down, are not tenable under current regulations and other potential solutions pose safety risks. The DroneDefender™ “… utilizes a non-kinetic solution to defend airspace up to 400m against UAS, such as quadcopters and hexacopters, without compromising safety or risking collateral damage.” Click here to see a video demonstration of the device.
Of course, as noted above, the device is not authorized for civilian use. The rest of us will have to rely on our shotgun for defense against invasive drones, as a man in Kentucky did last year. Or perhaps we’d better think twice. The gentleman in Kentucky was charged with two misdemeanors, criminal mischief and wanton endangerment. However, he did start a trend it appears. Others have since shot drones out of the air.