DIUx and Dedrone have formed a partnership to assess, measure and respond to adversarial UAS threats to U.S. security.
Airspace security firm Dedrone provides an off-the-shelf UAS detection system, Drone Tracker, which uses sensors to detect and mitigate drones. Together with DIUx, the DoD organization which accelerates commercial technology for the military, they are experimenting with this platform to develop the best way of countering the increasing threat to military security from drones.
“Anecdotal information of drone incidents near military bases are leaving military security personnel with insufficient details about the nature of airspace threats,” said Joerg Lamprecht, CEO and co-founder of Dedrone. “Our partnership with DIUx is an opportunity for us to work directly with military installations and inform defense leaders on how to protect military airspace against rogue drone pilots.”
DIUx is experimenting with Dedrone’s technology to provide situational awareness of drone activity over protected sites. It has worked with the DoD previously through a two-month airspace activity survey with Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, when it detected unauthorized drones infiltrating the airspace despite the area being a no-fly zone.
Drones pose a number of potential threats from espionage and threats to physical security. Most notably, drones have nearly collided with Coast Guard and Army helicopters and disrupted Air Force and Central Command flight operations, among other incidents both domestically and abroad.
In April 2017, the FAA extended their authority over military operations areas (MOAs) by instituting restrictions that specifically apply to drones, and extended these rules to protect 133 facilities. In August 2017, the Pentagon implemented a new policy permitting military bases to shoot down drones that are deemed a threat.