Tech giant rolls out ‘drone detector’

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Kaspersky Lab, a leading Russian software company, has created a portable device for detecting small drones. According to the business, the Antidrone Portable is a security solution intended for government and commercial use.

The radio frequency detector is less than 5 kilogrammes and may be carried in a rolling luggage. To track drones using a graphical interface, the operator use a tablet running Kaspersky’s Antidrone software. According to the business, the device can pinpoint the exact location of most drone types within a kilometer-wide radius, as well as the operator’s position. Antidrone Portable, with a battery life of up to two hours, can be used to patrol the perimeter of a protected location.

The new software is “another confirmation that we have long been more than an anti-virus company,” said Eugene Kaspersky, general director, in a statement on Monday.

In 2019, Kaspersky released Antidrone hardware and software to assist defend “critical infrastructure, industrial facilities, transportation infrastructure, and public events from drone misuse.”

The portable device, according to Vladimir Turov, the head of the Antidrone programme, is the result of ongoing research and iteration.

“Unmanned vehicles are evolving, and the risks associated with their use are growing,” Turov said, emphasising that identification is the most challenging aspect of any drone defence. In a crowd or among dense urban infrastructure, a small commercial drone is “almost impossible” to identify, he adds.

While drone-mounted cameras have assisted professional and amateur filmmakers in producing magnificent imagery over the last decade, the technology did not take long to become militarised. During the war in Syria, Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) terrorists employed small civilian quadcopters not just for scouting but also as suicide bombers. Drones have also played an important part in the Ukraine conflict, from scouting and directing artillery fire to dropping grenades into opposing trenches.