UK defense firm unveils electromagnetic anti-drone defense shield

By Kelly Hodgkins September 18, 2015

Falcon Shield

UK defense company Selex ES unveiled its sophisticated anti-drone defense system during the recent Defense and Security Equipment International exhibition in London. Three years in the making, the Falcon Shield provides protection from both mini- and micro-sized unmanned aircraft systems. It was designed for a military customer looking to protect soldiers, convoys, and bases from the evolving threat of weaponized drones.

During its presentation, Selex ES did not divulge the details of its proprietary technology but did confirm that it takes advantage of the electromagnetic spectrum to create a shield around a protected area. The system uses a network of camera and radar surveillance sensors that can discretely detect and track a drone in a variety of environments, including “high-clutter urban canyons.”

Besides detecting, the system has an attack capability that allows the user to disrupt the drone using jamming technology, or even hijack the controls to reroute it away from a target. The system also has provisions for a conventional attack possibly using projectiles, such as bullets.

Selex’s solution is not the only anti-drone technology currently under development. Boeing also is developing a laser cannon that can destroy a UAV in under two seconds. Boeing’s system uses a camera to track a drone and sophisticated laser weapons system to destroy it. The drone killer is highly precise, allowing users to target specific parts of a drone, such as a tail or a wing. In its current iteration, the laser-shooting, drone-killer can fire from a static position but Boeing hopes to release a future model capable of firing from a moving vehicle.

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