Hawk grabs, laser shots, machine-gun sweeps! countries are "greatly inspired" to develop anti-UAV weapons

For a long time, the security problems brought by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), such as "black flight", have been puzzling the security departments of various countries. Since 2017, especially in conflict areas in the Middle East, incidents of armed elements using modified drones to detect and launch attacks have become more frequent. The development of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) shows the characteristics of lower and lower threshold, higher and higher technology level and so on. According to a study released by the New America Foundation in early 2016, 86 countries around the world already have "some degree of UAV capability," and none of them want to be left behind in the "era of unmanned warfare."

Low altitude, slow, small (low slow small) UAV illegal mapping, threats to aircraft safety, illegal incursions into major activities and sensitive areas of the news frequently reported, this is the most widespread concern of the UAV threat for a long time. At London's Heathrow International Airport in July 2014, an A320 nearly crashed into a drone as it was about to land; on April 17, 2016, an A320 crashed into a drone as it landed at Heathrow International Airport; and on January 26, 2015, an A320 nearly crashed into a drone as it was about to land at Heathrow International Airport. A small rotorcraft crashed on the South Lawn of the White House; a modified drone was found on the roof of the Japanese Prime Minister's residence on April 22, 2015; and Merkel attended an election rally on September 15, 2013. A drone landed next to her.
Countries against the "slow small" UAV countermeasures developed the earliest, it can be said that "flowers blossom." The anti-UAV systems developed by military industrial enterprises are mainly "hard kill" such as laser interception and traditional fire strikes, while the defense and control equipment developed by science and technology companies are mainly "soft kill" such as radio interference and "net" interception. Others with higher exit rates, such as law enforcement agencies, train hawks to shoot down drones in "air combat". Us "National interest" reported that in 2015 in the United States "black dart" anti-UAV exercises, as many as 55 kinds of anti-UAV systems "stage performance."

China has launched a "low-altitude guard" laser defense system designed for small UAVs that can be deployed on the ground or mounted on delivery vehicles, with a striking radius of about 2 km, which can be shot down within five seconds of a target being spotted. It is suitable for air defence in key areas and provides security for major events in densely populated areas. Boeing demonstrated the Laser Avengers, a laser system mounted on jeeps, as early as 2009, shooting down several drones in a demonstration. Compared with traditional firepower shooting down UAV, laser interception system has many advantages, such as higher success rate, less collateral damage, more suitable for use in urban environment and densely populated areas. From the development trend of this kind of anti-UAV system in recent years, the combination of directional energy and kinetic energy to combat UAV is more in line with the trend-the laser interceptor system equipped with machine guns or artillery.

In addition to the traditional firepower and laser weapons and other "hard kill", the use of radio interference and other unmanned aerial vehicles to carry out "soft kill" research is also the main direction. In 2015, the U. S. launched the "UAV Defenders" rifle, which can transmit radio beams to interfere with UAV control signals and GPS navigation signals, effective range of 400 meters. Other "soft kill" is the use of UAV netting interception, or the use of anti-UAV rocket launcher interceptor network and so on.

South Korean researchers have also explored the development of a sonic anti-drone weapon that uses external sound waves to resonate the drone's gyroscope, disrupting the drone's smooth flight. Although technically feasible, the external environment makes it difficult to call the device an effective anti-UAV weapon, with a range of only 40 meters when the sound has reached 140 decibels, and there are many difficulties in targeting and tracking the target. In addition, South Korea is exploring the use of micro-UAVs to attack potentially threatening drones. Just as designers are building drones more and more sci-fi, so too are the "brain holes" of researchers exploring anti-drone technology.

In the Middle East battlefield, various armed groups for the use of unmanned aerial vehicles in combat, but also sounded the terrorist attack "technology upgrade" alarm. The "homegrown drones" in the Middle East have been refitted from readily available consumer drones, and while there are few opportunities in the face of heavily defended Russian bases in Syria, they have been used to deal with armed groups at the same level of skill. Especially in the face of some "soft targets", these drones can also be called "mass murderers," especially since Russia has revealed that the navigation technology and ammunition loaded by these drones used by terrorists have reached or are close to military levels.

The threat of drone attacks is already pressing given the almost unstoppable flow of terrorists around the world. As early as June 25, 2013, German police arrested two Tunisians who tried to use drones to carry out terrorist attacks. Rapid technological advances have blurred the boundaries between civilian and military UAV technology, and some of the "big sticks" commonly used to counter "low slow small" drones are also being "thickened and lengthened." For example, laser weapons with higher power and longer range are being developed to counter the more powerful UAVs.

In the national arms race, many countries are actively developing airborne and shipborne high-power laser systems. The laser cannon aboard the US military "Ponce" was once "instantaneously killed" by unmanned aerial vehicles during exercises, which can be described as a "technological surprise of four." And Russia's powerful electronic warfare equipment in Syria to show the suppression and control of the strength of unmanned aerial vehicles can only be regarded as anti-UAV capabilities of the "cattle knife test." Iran's "forced landing" of US RQ-170 drones in 2011 is rumoured to have played an important role in Russia's "garrison" ground active jamming system.

The threat of "inadvertent error", the threat of terrorism with sinister intentions and the arms race at the national level, the rapid advancement of drone technology and the global proliferation have deepened the security concerns of States. All kinds of "thinking greatly inspired" anti-UAV equipment has gradually entered the field of vision.