{"id":382,"date":"2018-06-08T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-06-07T23:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/legal-technical-drone-technologies\/382\/"},"modified":"2020-01-10T11:04:51","modified_gmt":"2020-01-10T11:04:51","slug":"legal-technical-drone-technologies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/legal-technical-drone-technologies\/382\/","title":{"rendered":"The legal and technical requirements for countering drone technologies"},"content":{"rendered":"

Drone Detection Sys specialises in new civilian C-UAS technologies, countering drone technologies for customers from both the public and private sectors.<\/h2>\n

Among all the disruptive technologies, RPASs (remotely piloted aircraft systems) or UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles), commonly known as drones, are perhaps one of the most fascinating of this decade.<\/p>\n

The different civil aviation entities or working groups such as the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), the SESAR Joint Undertaking, EUROCONTROL, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), and the Joint Authorities for Rulemaking on Unmanned Systems (JARUS), among others, and all national civil aviation authorities as well as air traffic controllers and air navigation service providers have been working hard over several years to prepare the sky of tomorrow for the safe integration of these new civilian flying machines.<\/p>\n

In this article, Geneva-based system integrator Drone Detection Sys summarises the rapidly evolving drone landscape and the importance of considering when it is necessary to implement countering drone technologies.<\/p>\n

Drones: challenges and opportunities<\/h3>\n

Civilian drones, which will evolve in \u2018U-spaces\u2019, will serve civilian society for the best. They are already used for mapping, aerial shooting, deliveries of blood etc. Drone technologies have, over the past few years, become highly accessible to everyone for easy use. France and Germany were the European pioneers of the mini-drone multicopters that we know today. It is nevertheless Chinese manufacturers who are responsible for their impressive developments and improvements. A few years ago, in 2013, these connected objects were considered \u2018gadgets\u2019 and now they are becoming powerful tools.<\/p>\n

Like every technology which finds itself in the hands of the public, there are some downsides to drone technologies. These concerns include privacy violation, accidents in crowds of spectators, and \u2018accidental\u2019 near misses with other aircraft. One that requires a lot of attention from all civilian and military authorities \u2013 even though it represents a tiny percentage of drone use \u2013 is \u2018diverted technologies\u2019 for intended malicious purposes. These are purely security issues and are highly important for all environments, especially urban environments.<\/p>\n

New mini-drones have made it very easy to get something from point A to point B by flying it over every physical barrier on the ground. For example, it is now possible to reach a \u2018target\u2019 at more than 120km\/h within a 10km radius (line of sight) with a 600g mini-drone for a few hundred euros. It is also easy to carry an 80kg payload and launch it wherever you want within cities.<\/p>\n

There is now evidence that these mini-drones have been used to deliver illegal goods over detention facilities or borders.<\/p>\n

Regarding weaponised consumer mini-drones, until recently only troops on the battlefield have faced attacks from diverted Chinese mini-drones carrying grenades. Evidence shows that they have experienced diverted-consumer drone attacks on a day-to-day basis.<\/p>\n

Things are changing fast, and criminals are adopting new technologies for their illegal and malicious purposes in urban environments. Mini-drones are now definitely part of their means.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, it takes time for law enforcement to adopt, to acquire, and to use on a daily basis these new technologies because of legal and administrative frameworks. Criminals only face technical constraints.<\/p>\n

Before providing an overview of the existing countering drone technologies and which ones can or cannot be used by law enforcement and private security companies, let us clarify how our skies will be monitored.<\/p>\n

Co-operative drones<\/h3>\n

It is important to make clear that civil aviation authorities and air traffic controllers are working on a co-operative model. This means that the (remote) pilot who would like to operate the drone has registered, or will have to register, his drone in order to receive a numerical-ID like a number plate. Unless the mini-drones are equipped with a transceiver\/transponder or a 4G\/5G SIM card, they will not be physically detected.<\/p>\n

Even in a future scenario where mini-drones would be required to send a signal to inform their e-ID, it would be really easy to circumvent this legal requirement by making a DIY (\u2018do it yourself\u2019) mini-drone by finding the necessary components on the internet and building one. A 12-year-old child could do it.<\/p>\n

Non-cooperative drones<\/h3>\n

To start with, law enforcement and companies in charge of security must have the appropriate tools to physically detect flying objects \u2013 both authorised ones that will be registered and non-authorised ones that will never be registered. Secondly, they must know what kind of counter-unmanned aerial systems (C-UAS) technologies could be used, who they could be used by, and how they could be implemented in cities and urban environments compared to battlefields.<\/p>\n

Today, many technologies exist that can detect and defeat these mini-drones, but there is significant confusion over which technologies can be used by civilian authorities and which can be used in the urban environment.<\/p>\n

This confusion is for the time being understandable as new technologies create new issues that must be dealt with. As with all disruptive ones, there are certain delays due to the necessity of regulations and education being appropriately adapted.<\/p>\n

Thus, it is of the utmost importance to work with civilian C-UAS experts on the acquisition and uses of such technologies with regards to the regulations and laws of a specific country.<\/p>\n

What is a drone?<\/h3>\n

In order to fully understand the different kinds of drone technologies or methods of detection, it is necessary to get to grips with the basics of what a drone (UAV\/RPAS) is today.<\/p>\n

A drone is:<\/p>\n