LAD & C-UAS

French company Microwave Characterization Center (MC2) Technologies has been supplying its Nerod RF counter-unmanned aircraft system (C-UAS) to the Japanese government with the help of its local partner in Japan, Mikuni Aerospace.

Speaking to Janes at the DSEI Japan 2023 show being held in Chiba, Camille Gaquiere, export control manager at MC2 Technologies said that the Nerod RF units are manufactured by the company at their facilities in France and sent to Japan. Mikuni Aerospace co-ordinates with the Japanese government to understand and fulfil the government's requirements.

The Nerod RF is a handheld C-UAS that needs to be pointed at a hostile unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) by the operator to work.

Gaquiere said that the Nerod RF works by generating noise signals at the radio frequencies (RFs) used by hostile UAVs. The C-UAS can transmit signals on seven frequency bands independently or simultaneously including 400 MHz, 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 2.4 GHz, and 5.8 GHz.

SIG4NL has unveiled a new mobile vehicular-based counter-unmanned aircraft system (C-UAS) at IDEX 2023, being held in Abu Dhabi from 20 to 24 February.

The platform, known as Sky Shield, provides full omnidirectional C-UAS protection in the tactical environment and can be deployed within five minutes, Filip Kostomlatsky, senior programme manager for electronic warfare and intelligence at SIG4NL,told Janes.

According to Kostomlatsky, the platform is equipped with an X-band radar, an electro-optical camera, a directional finder, and an RF detector and omnidirectional jammer that is capable of detecting and neutralising multiple UASs from up to 3 km away. The radar, the camera, and the antenna are all provided by third-party companies. He was unable to elaborate further at the time of publication.

The RF detector and jammer operates in the 400 MHz–6 GHz frequency range. A takeover control capability is under development, he added.

The platform was developed to meet a requirement from the United Arab Emirates for a mobile tactical C-UAS. The platform is also available for other customers on request.

The Indian Air Force (IAF) has developed a low-cost counter-unmanned aircraft system (C-UAS) with soft-kill capabilities to improve security of vital areas/vital points (VAs/VPs) against hostile unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), Project Officer Wing Commander Ranjith Unnikrishnan, told Janes at the Aero India 2023 show being held in Bangalore from 13 to 17 February.

The C-UAS – developed by the IAF's 9 Base Repair Depot (9 BRD) unit in Pune – includes a micro-doppler radar with a range of 7–10 km. The radar has an inbuilt artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm, which can discern UAVs and birds, Unnikrishnan said. 9 BRD is also working to enable the radar to identify different UAVs, he added.

The radar is supported by a camera and acoustic sensors to get an accurate detection of UAVs, Unnikrishnan said.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) has developed a new laser system to counter unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and a manportable version of its cyber-security solution named Intersept.

Both the systems were displayed by MHI at the DSEI Japan 2023 show being held in Chiba from 15 to 17 March.

Company officials told Janes at the show that the laser system can destroy hostile UAVs within a range of 1.2 km. The company is expected to deliver at least one unit of the laser system to the Japanese Ministry of Defence (MoD) in December, the company officials added.

The company also unveiled a manportable version of Intersept, which can be used to detect targeted cyber attacks on control signals.

According to MHI, Intersept can detect and intercept unauthorised data by monitoring signals. Intersept can be applied without requiring modifications to target systems and monitors the systems without interruption or deterioration in performance.

Japanese firm Toshiba revealed a radio frequency (RF) detection sensor and a long-range detection radar as part of a counter-unmanned aircraft system (C-UAS) solution at the DSEI Japan 2023 show in Chiba.

The C-UAS solution, which the company has not named, includes an RF sensor; a short-, medium-, and long-range radar; two cameras; and a net gun-based autonomous unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) countermeasure.

Toshiba said its RF detection sensor passively detects UAS control signals at distances of 4 km. It said its short-, medium-, and long-range radars can detect UASs from 0.8 km, 1.8 km, and 5 km, respectively.

The company added that the detection range of its long-range radar can be increased up to 20 km, depending on the radar cross-section (RCS) of the hostile UAS. The information obtained by the radar is cued to a Bosch PTZ camera and an unidentified US-origin optical and thermal camera.

The autonomous UAV countermeasure is deployed to capture a hostile UAS by deploying net guns, which can tow the UAS to a safe location.

Teledyne FLIR showed a counter-unmanned aircraft system (C-UAS) concept that integrates its SkyRanger R70 UAS, a TacFLIR 380-HD multisensor surveillance system, and the Cameleon V5 Enterprise intrusion detection software on a Ford F-150 truck at IDEX 2023, which was held in Abu Dhabi from 20 to 24 February.

Speaking to Janes, Adam DeAngelis, Teledyne FLIR's head of global marketing, said “Cameleon command-and-control software allows disparate systems to be linked and controlled/queued, such as the LVSS ADA [Lightweight Vehicle Surveillance System with air domain awareness] C-UAS, [the] Ranger HDC [surveillance system], and [the] R70.”

Target detection is collectively undertaken by the R70, the TacFLIR 380-HD, or a Ranger R20SS ground and coastal surveillance radar. The data feeds into the Cameleon V5 control centre, which can integrate systems using internet protocol (IP) connectivity and without the need to modify the core software. The data from Cameleon can be transferred to other C-UAS defence systems.

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has partnered with Adani Defence and Aerospace to manufacture its Drone Detect, Deter, and Destroy (D4) counter-unmanned aircraft system (C-UAS), a company official told Janes at the Aero India 2023 show, which was held in Bangalore from 13 to 17 February.

The technology transfer has been completed, and Adani has started manufacturing the D4 C-UAS, the official said.

The D4 C-UAS has been demonstrated to various services and security agencies under the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), the official added. Janes understands that the DRDO and Adani have secured contracts from these agencies/services.

The C-UAS has also been deployed at various government events involving top-level dignitaries, the official said.

The D4 C-UAS has automatic detection, classification, and neutralisation capabilities both at day and night. It can also be operated manually.

The system can be operated in a stationary mode as well as from mobile vehicles. It is also portable.