Dedrone’s hand-held counter-UAV DedroneDefender unveiled

Counter-UAV detection and mitigation specialist Dedrone has unveiled its new hand-held DedroneDefender solution for effectively jamming invasive craft in urban environments.

The Virginia-based company says DedroneDefender completes its line of counter-UAV tech by offering clients a small, lightweight platform ensuring targeted, precision radio frequency jamming of unauthorized, dangerous, or otherwise potentially troublesome drones.

It says the product is ideal for civilian, state, and local law enforcement users and other operators needing to keep designated airspaces UAV-free in urban settings without disrupting ambient radio signals.

Weighing in at just 7.5 lbs and measuring only 22 inches long, DedroneDefender is described by the company as one of the lightest and most compact counter-UAV products on the market. It uses narrow-band, or “comb” jamming to minimize disruption to surrounding devices using various signals – including Wi-Fi – as it breaks communication links between pilots and unauthorized drones. 

To do so it interfaces with the DedroneTracker command and control platform, which detects, tracks, identifies, and continuously prioritizes threats through autonomous background interrogation of possible targets; then singles out the specific communication protocols of intruding craft. Once those have been neutralized, the DedroneDefender anti-UAV system goes into a pre-programmed safety mode to minimize risk to others and damage to the vehicle.   

Read: Ukraine among first users of DedronePortable counter-UAV system 

Like the earlier DroneDefender counter-UAV system, DedroneDefender is effective against single drones and swarms alike. It can be operated in traditional handheld mode supported by a phone-based app, and in the first quarter of next year it will also be useable mounted on a tailored positioner for automated targeting as a Pan-Tilt-Jammer. 

Dedrone CEO Aaditya Devarakonda says the new DroneDefender not only provides a sleek, highly transportable anti-UAV asset to users, but is also an effective complement to the company’s full range of detection and mitigation devices.

“DroneDefender is a valuable resource for extreme hostile environments, as proven by our federal and military customers,” said Devarakonda in announcing the new addition. “DedroneDefender extends that security to law enforcement and is a vital tool in a layered defense approach. It is easy to implement and use for drone mitigation, especially when combined with the threat prioritization provided by DedroneTracker. Our solution library is continuously updated to ensure both DroneDefender and DedroneDefender are able to mitigate even the newest manufactured and DIY drones.”