The video below shows a live-fire exercise carried out by a Maritime Helicopter team. The goal of the training exercise was to practice tracking and shooting down an unauthorized (rogue) drone. After getting a clear line-of-sight, the solider started firing. It took over 40 rounds and 30 seconds to hit the drone that then exploded into pieces.
While this is a good start, several issues come to mind.
- How much time is required to be alerted and get in position to shoot at a drone? Is response time short enough to destroy the drone before it, perhaps, drops a dangerous payload?
- This approach cannot be used at large events, like the Super Bowl, that require high levels of security. Imagine the panic and injuries generated by overhead gun fire and one or more drones falling, in pieces, onto the field or into the stands.
- What if 20, even 50 drones attack? Even with multiple teams at the ready, it will still take 15 minutes or more to get a sharp shooter in place with the drone in sight. On average, Drones can travel at 30 MPH, so there is a small window of opportunity to destroy them.
- More disconcerting is CNN's Wolf Blitzer interview of a Homeland security expert/consultant. He suggested shooting the drone out of the sky as a viable defense option. We debunked the CNN report.
What are possible legal options?
- Get more reaction time. Events with over 30,000 attendees have FAA mandated no-fly zones of 20 miles in circumference. If we can detect drones further away, we have more time to implement security procedures, including interference with control signals.
- Use all available information. Useful information about rogue drones is now available from Drone detection systems with RF sensors, cameras, radar, and acoustic information.
- Deploy drone-pilot teams throughout the airspace using their own drones to monitor for rogue drones. Not only will they help with an early warning, they can use the on-board sensors to transmit information about the rogue drone that helps assess the threat and use countermeasures.
Pilot teams could be implemented at reasonable cost for major events. 20 miles of restricted airspace around the event add up to 125 miles circumference. If every pilot can monitor 1 mile of airspace (2 min to travel that mile), we are looking at 125 pilots for 5 hours at a cost of $125,000 (5 hours * $200=$1000),
Probably the most important defense when danger is imminent is having a clear SOP in place.
- What do we do if we spot 1 drone? What do we do if we spot 20?
- How do we react to drone that is carrying a payload vs a non-carrying payload drone?
- When and where do we start the countermeasures? 10 miles out? Over a less populated area?
- If the threat is clear, do we still adhere by the FAA rules on sUAS?
- Does the size or speed of the drone(s) influence any of the above considerations?
This is a challenging topic. Many of our 3-letter agencies are working hard to protect our homeland and they are aware of the potential threat raised by the proliferation of drones.