A French soldier aiming a DroneGun at a vehicle-mounted UAV during the 2019 Bastille Day military parade in Paris. Š DroneShield
The Downing of the Drones By David Oliver
The proliferation of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) has been stunningly swift prompting governments and industry to urgently seek to develop effective defence systems against these unmanned threats. UAVs, also called remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS) - or drones as they are more commonly known have been introduced in increasing numbers across many nations and mainly military services. They come in various guises ranging from 4 kg quadcopters to airliner-size high-altitude long-endurance (HALE) platforms, many of which are designed or can be adapted to carry weapons.
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ounter-UAV systems are equally diverse as they range from hand-held devices to anti-aircraft missile systems, segmented into laser, electronic and kinetic systems. There are at least 250 counterUAV products either on the market or under active development in 36 countries.
A leading point and shoot device manufacturer is the Australia-based DroneShield Ltd. Its DroneGun MkIII is a compact, lightweight countermeasure against a wide range of small UAV designed for one hand operation. It allows for a controlled management of UAV payload such as explosives, with no damage to common EDR | July/August 2020
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