We recently revealed IRIS^®, our innovative new drone detection radar designed for drone detection and tracking. With extensive 3D position tracking technology and a small form factor that makes deployment easy, IRIS^® was designed without compromise – it is the definitive counter-drone radar.

We spoke with Daniela Hildenbrand, Team Leader for Counter-Unmanned Air Systems at ESG, about why now is the time to take the escalating drone threat seriously and how we used what we’ve learned about radar to create this new product.

The Rising Drone Threat

We started by asking Daniela how she slept. This wasn’t just a pleasantry – people involved in defence and security often find peace of mind hard to come by, especially with the evolving threat of drones.

"The drone threat ever emerges, and it helps me sleep better knowing that there are technologies out there that contribute to solving that challenge."

Daniela believes that it’s never been more crucial to develop new counter-drone technology. "It's really necessary that we compete in this arms race and stay up to date."

"The drone threat itself moves really dynamically," Daniela explained. "We know what their potential is, and we know what they could do if they’re placed in the wrong hands."

Competing in the Arms Race

IRIS^® is the most complete counter-drone radar released to-date. It provides high elevation coverage, 360-degree azimuth coverage, and features easy integration with an included user interface. 

We designed IRIS^® to counter all kinds of drones. Drones can approach in swarms, so we built IRIS^® to be capable of detecting multiple targets simultaneously. Drones can also hover in place, making them difficult to detect, so IRIS'^® built-in micro-doppler functionality enables it to confirm whether a hovering object is a drone, based on whether it has rotor blades or not.

According to Daniela, preparedness is key. "We as the counter-drone industry have to move dynamically, and make sure we are up to the challenge today and in the future." This ethos was at the core of designing IRIS^®. 

We felt it was crucial to design an all-encompassing drone detection radar. The drone threat is only going to continue to evolve as time goes on. And if these drones end up in the wrong hands, the consequences could be dire.

Using What We've Learned

Daniela emphasised the importance of radars in the fight against drones. "We gathered that radar is one of the most important sensors simply because it enables us to detect all drones independent of their control mechanism."

"We need radars that are reduced in size but not lacking in range - in classification range and detection range."

We used everything we know about drones, the threat they pose, and how best to counter them, to develop the ultimate drone radar. We discovered a need for radars that provide users with 360-degree coverage and height information in a 3D space – so we designed IRIS^®, a radar without compromise.

IRIS^® is small and lightweight, meaning it can be deployed easily and integrated with the broadcast-based interface included as standard. But it's also powerful, giving you peace of mind when tackling the evolving drone threat.

As one of our most important global partners, we were pleased to be able to give Daniela a chance at experiencing IRIS^® in the field. She was happy to see that the feedback they had given had been implemented into the design process to create the best possible counter-drone radar.

"We're very happy to see that despite this reduced size we will still have similar ranges and enhanced capabilities particularly with the height information that we see now."