Aviation Insider
Warfare in the New Millenium
The Drone Killers
The extreme need for anti-drone defenses was clearly demonstrated in September 2019, when Houthi rebels in Saudi Arabia used relatively inexpensive drones to disable five percent of the world’s oil supply in a single attack. For a few thousand dollars and almost no manpower, Third World insurgents inflicted billions of dollars of damages on nations worldwide. A new form of guerilla warfare is upon us.
On September 14, in a report titled “Drones Strike Big Saudi Oil Centers, and Houthis Claim Responsibility,” it was reported at the NYTimes.com by Ben Hubbard, Palko Karasz, and Stanley Reed that drone strikes had set fire to a Saudi Aramco refinery in Abqaiq, Saudi Arabia, earlier that Saturday. The New York Times reporters stated that “Yemen’s Houthi rebels launched drone attacks on key Saudi oil facilities on Saturday, setting off blazes that could be seen from space and showcasing how cheap new technologies allow even minor militant groups to inflict serious damage on major powers.”
Saudi Aramco, according to Wikipedia, is one of the largest companies in the world. Headquartered in Dharan, Saudi Arabia, it has recently been poised to offer a public IPO, making the attack all the more inopportune. The Houthis claimed to have used 10 drones in the attack. Independent sources have indicated that such drones can be purchased, equipped with munitions, and deployed for a relatively low cost of 10,000 to 15,000 USD each. This illustrates the emerging phenomenon of “asymmetric warfare,” in which weaponized drones can be used in swarms by small militant groups at a relatively low cost to strike at nation states possessing far greater military, financial, and technical resources.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was reported in national media to have guaranteed the Saudis the United States' full support to defend against this emerging threat. As this dramatic development unfolds, it begs the question of how anyone can best defend against a swarm drone attack. What defenses are under development or deployed at this time? This is the backstory with a summary of selected C-UAS systems that have appeared at recent annual AUVSI Xponential trade shows.
Only federal agencies, law enforcement, and the military are legally permitted to operate drone-suppression (jamming) equipment. Federal law prohibits the operation, marketing, or sale of any type of jamming equipment, including devices that interfere with cellular and personal communication services (PCS), police radar, global positioning systems (GPS), and wireless networking services (Wi-Fi).
Putting the growing investment in C-UAS (counter-UAV) in perspective, it has been reported that the Pentagon will spend almost
AS CONCERNS GROW AROUND THE POTENTIAL SECURITY THREATS DRONES MAY POSE TO BOTH CIVILIAN AND MILITARY ENTITIES, A NEW MARKET FOR COUNTER-DRONE TECHNOLOGY IS RAPIDLY EMERGING.
twice as much on countering drones in 2019 as it did in 2018.
The Bard College Report
Bard College, located in New York State, published a detailed report in February
2018, titled “Counter-Drone Systems
2018” that assessed the then-status of
C-UAS technologies. Bard College has announced that a second, followup report is scheduled for autumn 2019. The 2018 report introduction notes: “Counter-drone technology, also known as counter-UAS, C-UAS, or counter-UAV technology, refers to systems that are used to detect and/or intercept unmanned aircraft. As concerns grow around the potential security threats drones may pose to both civilian and military entities, a new market for counter-drone technology is rapidly emerging. To date, we have found at least 235 counter-drone products either on the market or under active development. This report provides background on the growing demand for C-UAS technology, describes how the technology works, presents our database of known C-UAS systems from around the globe, and explains some of the challenges surrounding counter-drone technology use.” The report notes “Key Takeaways”:
The C-UAS industry has grown exponentially in recent years. We have identified over 230 C-UAS products produced by 155 manufacturers in 33 countries;
The most popular drone detection techniques are radar, RF detection, EO, and IR. The most popular interdiction technique is jamming;
C-UAS technology poses a wide range of practical, legal, and policy challenges in all operating environments;
A lack of common standards in the C-UAS industry means that there is a wide variance in the effectiveness and reliability of systems.
Some of the leaders in C-UAS manufacturing offer a variety of drone defenses that vary widely in terms of technology, portability, complexity and expense.