Tests of Israeli anti-drone solution at int’l airports succeed
System deployed to protect leaders, infrastructure at the 2018 G20 Buenos Aires summit, opening ceremony of Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympics
By EYTAN HALONELTA's Drone Guard system(photo credit: IAI)ELTA Systems, a subsidiary of Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), has successfully tested its new anti-drone solution at “several large international airports,” the company said on Monday.The “Drone Guard” solution serves rapidly growing demand by airport operators in the aftermath of severe disruption caused to London’s Gatwick Airport in December 2018 by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), IAI said. Specialist equipment deployed by the British Army to enable the reopening of the airport runway after 36 hours of interruption included the deployment of the “Drone Dome” system, developed by Israeli defense company Rafael.Drone Guard was tested at airports in Europe, Latin America and Southeast Asia during daily routine operating hours, demonstrating the detection and neutralization of drones without hindering flight timetables or impacting passengers.The system has also already been deployed to protect leaders and infrastructure at the 2018 G20 Buenos Aires summit and the opening ceremony of the Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympics.The system integrates a 3D X-band radar to detect and track all types of drones, a COMINT system to classify the drones by their transmission, an electro-optical/infra-red camera to classify detected objects and a jammer to neutralize and intercept the threatening object. Hundreds of units of the system, which is specifically configured to operate in the complex airport environment, have been sold to date.“Drone Guard system is operational worldwide and was used to protect major events such as the G20 in Argentina last year,” IAI vice president and ELTA CEO Yoav Tourgeman said. “We are proud to provide the Drone Guard system to some of the main airports around the world.”“Since the Drone Guard is lightweight, transportable and easy to set up, we have been able to meet these demands with an excellent level of performance,” he said. “In September, we participated in the REP(MUS) 19 NATO exercise in Portugal, where we successfully demonstrated the Drone Guard’s ability to protect harbors against hostile drones, UASs, USVs and other airborne and surface threats.”The Drone Guard offers a significant advantage for users operating additional systems to counter threats posed by drones and other populated areas, according to IAI, by operating in tandem with radio transmitting systems including radars, communication systems and additional technologies within an airport’s electromagnetic spectrum. The Drone Guard system’s radar operates in X-Band, while airport radars typically operate in S-Band.
