Neutralization of Unauthorized Drones

1.                  UAS and their Use

Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) has become a major support for defense services both in war as well as during peace time. The UAS consists of the unmanned aircraft and the associated ground operational control and support system. The military UAS finds extreme useful application in both intelligence gathering as well as arms dropping in hostile areas where manned aircraft deployment is considered dangerous. In civil sectors also, UAS is gaining momentum to dominate in the surveillance, emergency or quick and urgent air transportation and homeland security. UAS is a broad term applicable to UAV, RPV as well as common name ‘drones’. Drones have become very attractive for its usefulness and additionally supported by low cost, low risk and off the shelf availability.   

2.                  Unauthorised Use of Drones

However, unauthorized use of drones can pose very serious security threats to states from terrorists and insurgent activists or other organized crime groups. Drones can be used to obtain commercially sensitive information as well as pose great challenge to privacy of general citizen. While, military in the interest of state security and protection can use drones to any extent, unauthorized use of drones have to be prevented. With the maturity of technology, countermeasures or the defense system against illegal and harmful use of drones has to be found out and introduced. State has to enact appropriate legislation to use these countermeasures to avoid proliferations.   

3.                  Hierarchy of Countermeasures

Various countermeasures can be grouped and their hierarchy can be shown by a inverted pyramid as shown in figure -1.

Figure -1: Hierarchy of Counter measures

3.1 Regulatory Counter Measures

At the base of the pyramid, we have the regulatory countermeasures, which will control the design manufacture and sale so as to govern the supply of drones to market and sale to authorized/proper users. This can effected by:

3.1.1 Control Manufacture and Sales

a)      Domestic Manufacture and Sale

b)      Point of sale regulations, identity of buyer, purpose

c)      Regulate purchase and sale of drones above a certain level of capability.

d)     Regulate Manufacturing standards.

3.1.2  Civil Aviation Regulations

a)      Design and airworthiness clearances

b)      Operator (Owner & Remote Pilot) licensing regimes

c)      Operational requirements/restrictions (VFR, IFR etc.)

d)     Geo-fencing (no-fly zones built in to firmware)

e)      ATM/CNS requirements

3.1.3  Procurement and Import Regulations

•      In the similar lines of MTCR (control of weight, payload and range of operation).

3.2              Passive Countermeasures

            The unauthorized drones which pass through the regulatory counter measure and finds its place in the hands of unauthorized users may be neutralized by the passive counter measures. The Passive Countermeasure includes:

a) Early Warning (Detection, Identification by use of RADAR, CCTV, and other Advanced Technologies).

b) Use Drone-shield

c) Neutralize by use of various jamming techniques like Signal jamming, GPS Spoofing etc.

3.3   Active Countermeasures

            For the drones which pass through the first two countermeasures and reach the unauthroised operation venue are to be neutralized by active countermeasures by destroying (kill). These may include: 

a)    For those drones who pass through passive measures, are subjected to active countermeasures to Kill

b)   Kinetic Kill (missiles, rockets and bullets)

c)    Laser Defence System to kill.

References: 

1. Assessment of known drones use by non state actors; Published by Remote Control Project January 2015, UK. [http://remotecontrolproject.org]

2. Expanding Anti UAVs Market to counter Drone Technology - Dinakar Peri; CLAWS Journal, Winter 2015.