Aerospace and defense electronics

Abstract

There are many considerations to the challenges of the potential threats presented by drones. The widespread use of commercially available drones heeds warning to an increased need for vigilance these threats may possess for potential high-valued targets and critical sites. The depth of the solution obviously needs to be weighed against the possibilities of the threat and the potential of the threat to change over time. RF detection systems have a distinct advantage of reaction time along with a high probability of use. The actions and workflow of how to respond to a threat must play into how components of a defensive system can complement their actions for a complete solution. The careful consideration of the type of RF detection system must also consider the need to be able to sift through the myriad of RF signals in a dense spectrum environment and simultaneously reduce the false alarm rate. One needs to be able to tell the difference between a Wi-Fi signal someone turns on for their own personal hotspot and the Wi-Fi signal of a drone. As new signals appear and technology advances, skilled users should be able to define their own threats to be included in the classification database, or a service level agreement to renew and keep the database current with technology should be made available. Geolocation technology needs to be carefully considered and technology assessment should be performed against an anticipated scenario. Choosing a direction finding technology that is blind to a multi-threat environment could have disastrous consequences.