New partnership on counter-drone technology announced

There’s news from the world of drone counter-measures. General Dynamics Missions Systems and Dedrone have formed a partnership to provide counter-drone technology to customers from both the civilian and defense sectors. A news release says the strategic partnership will provide “General Dynamics’ global network with access to Dedrone’s complete drone detection and defeat technology.”

Dedrone makes a range of counter-drone products. It has rugged weatherproof RF sensors that can pick up on the C2 link associated with drones, and then plot those incursions in realtime using its own proprietary DroneTracker software. The company says that software “detects, classifies, and protects against drone threats, including localizing the drone. Passive and active countermeasures can be triggered, tailoring the defense mechanism to the severity of the threat.” Dedrone also has products that can take drones out of the sky, such as its DroneDefender device.

So Dedrone really has a complete and integrated system. It can detect, classify, and even cause a drone to come down from the sky. The Dedrone website shows how that system works together:

And here’s that gun

We thought you’d like to see it:

General Dynamics Mission Systems

You’ve likely heard of General Dynamics. It’s a leading military contractor, with “deep domain expertise in ground, sea, air, space and cyberspace.” The General Dynamics Mission Systems is a small business unit of General Dynamics, and will be acting as a reseller to the US government on behalf of Dedrone. You can imagine there might be significant demand for products like these from many different areas.

Recent drone incursions

Two drone incursions have happened recently in the world of Major League Baseball. In Minneapolis, and again in Boston, drones were flown over the field while a game was in play. In both instances, play had to be suspended until the drone took off. In Boston, police were able to locate the pilot, a 16-year-old boy. The FAA said it would speak with him. He has not been charged.

Then there was this incident:

Near-miss?

A drone was sighted by more than one witness on board Air Force One as the aircraft descended near Washington. We reported on that incident here and followed up with the witness.

These recent incidents have all upped the conversation about using drone counter-measures. So this new announcement is a timely one.

The intrusion of private and restricted airspace by unmanned aerial systems is one of the fastest-growing threats facing our customers, and Dedrone’s counter UAS technology platform is the market-leading solution to defeat those threats. We’re excited to partner with Dedrone to provide counter-drone capabilities to our global customer base.

Chris Brady, President, General Dynamics Mission Systems

Dedrone, says the release, is the perfect fit.

In the counter-drone technology market, Dedrone’s exclusive focus on C-UAS detection and defeat have enabled them to become the industry leader with the rare distinction of having production systems fielded and in operational use worldwide. The Dedrone C-UAS technology portfolio combines machine-learning software with best-in-class hardware sensors, electronic attack methods such as smart jamming, and defeat weapons to provide early warning, classification of, and mitigation against drone threats. Dedrone’s capabilities are used by hundreds of customers globally, including the U.S. military, allied and coalition forces, correctional facilities, airports, utilities, and corporations, as well as other public and private organizations.

Joint News Release