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A small, airborne enemy has been causing security staff too many sleepless nights, especially in the last five years. Drones pose security risks that grow bigger by the day as the technology behind them becomes more advanced. How do you protect your airspace from this ever-changing threat?

We spoke to Marijn Verbaant, a military counter-drone specialist, to get his thoughts on the subject. Marijn has a long history in ground-based air defence, including missions in Afghanistan. He’s now a senior subject matter expert on counter-UAS radar at the Dutch Ministry of Defence.

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Being Prepared for an Ever-Evolving Drone Threat 

 

Counter drone and UAS technology is developing fast. Not only that, but commercial drones are increasingly affordable and easier to obtain. Dealing with drone incidents might not be a daily occurrence right now, but it’s only a matter of time before the threat becomes more ubiquitous.

“I think that we should be able to keep up the pace with the adversaries,” Marijn explained. “They will keep finding new ways to challenge us. And we will have to deal with that of course.”

According to Marijn, if we’re going to stay ahead of this threat, drone detection radar will need to adapt and evolve with it.

“We will have to be able to detect, to classify, and to mitigate drones of all kinds, of all sizes, of all speeds, and in all environments. It’s important for us that we do that with multi-sensor and multi-effector, together with surrounding and central command and control.”

 

What Does Effective Military Drone Detection Look Like? 

 

A complete counter UAS radar solution is made up of multiple, integrated modular-based sensors. And one of the most important pieces of technology sitting at the heart of this solution is drone detection radar.

When it comes to military air base radar, there are several essential capabilities that users want to see. 

“For us, it’s important that the radar can detect and classify all kinds of drones, from the very small ones to the bigger ones. And it must be easy to integrate it into a system with all the other sensors and effectors.”

Security teams need time to react to approaching drones, which means radars have to provide full coverage of the airspace – and not just on the horizontal plane. Radars must also be able to detect what’s going on high above them.

“It’s important that the radar will be able to not just give us the X and the Y, but the Z aspect as well. So, the height information is important for us.”

“If we want to use the information out of the radar, for cueing on a camera system or a weapon system, it has to be very accurate. It’s not enough only to have a location, but we have to have the height information as well, to be quick and smooth in mitigating the rogue drones.”

 

RBR - blog image - An Interview With Miliatry Counter-Drone Specialist Marjin Verbaant - Image 2

The Problem With Drone Detection Radars

 

From speaking to our customers, partners, and counter-drone experts like Marijn, we found there were three core requirements needed from drone radars:

  • 3D position tracking with accurate elevation reporting
  • Full dome-like coverage, including hovering drone detection
  • Easy deployment and integration, which means it needs to be small and lightweight

Of course, there are many drone detection systems and counter UAS radars on the market. The problem is, they all involve a trade-off or compromise in their capabilities.

If they have a long range, they tend to be big and heavy, with limited coverage. But if they’re lightweight, they’re usually low power with limited range. Very few of these radars can tell birds apart from drones. Almost all of them are expensive and getting full 360-degree coverage often involves buying multiple of them.

So, we challenged ourselves to build a powerful new drone detection radar with no compromises. And the result is incredibly exciting.

 

Sleep Better With IRIS®, Our New Drone Detection Radar

 

IRIS® is a 3D radar built specifically for drone detection and tracking. Combining smart software with affordable radar, IRIS® provides full 360-degree coverage, plus a huge elevation coverage of 60-degrees. This gives you early warning of drones from every direction. And with the high elevation coverage, you don’t have to worry about drones approaching from above.

Our new radar is small, light, powerful, and easy to integrate and deploy. Marijn discovered this for himself when he stress-tested it before launch.

“Because it’s not too big, it’s not too heavy, it can be transported very easily,” he observed.

“It can detect and classify targets swiftly and smoothly. And it’s very easy to use for operators without any background in counter drone technology.”

IRIS® has all the capabilities you need to protect your airspace without any compromises, giving you greater peace of mind and fewer sleepless nights. Find out more about our brand-new drone detection radar.

 

USAF Radar at Military Air Base CTA