DroneShield

The sale of drones is up, and so too is the likelihood they will be used as part of a criminal act.

In Iraq, it has already been reported that terrorist group Isis is converting shop-purchased drones to be able to carry and drop hand grenades. Along with an increasing number of drones almost colliding with planes, a number of anti-drone technologies are being developed.


The latest? The DroneGun from Australian and US firm DroneShield. The firm's six-kilogram gun is apparently able to disable drones at a range of 2km (1.2 miles). A highly-dramatic video from the firm shows a man equipped with the gun and its accompanying backpack shooting down a drone that's hovering a short distance away.

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The idea behind the gun is to help protect people from drones carrying explosives or weapons, landing them safely instead of allowing them to be flown into targets. "It allows for a controlled management of drone payload, such as explosives, with no damage to common drone models or the surrounding environment," the maker says on its website, "due to the drones generally responding via a vertical controlled landing on the spot, or returning back to the starting point (assisting to track the operator)."

DroneShield's gun, according to its product brochure, is said to use signal jamming across the 2.4 and 5.8 GHz frequencies. It also has technology capable of blocking GPS and the Russian equivalent,GLONASS.


DroneShield

Unfortunately for those in the US, the drone isn't legal to use in the country. It has yet to be authorised by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and cannot be sold in the country until this is approved.

However, it isn't the only drone 'solution' under development. Michigan Tech University researchers recently equipped a drone with a net that can trap another drone which could be carrying explosives or other offensive paraphernalia. The thinking behind the net is that it could carry the aggressive drone to another location – away from a dangerous situation.

Elsewhere, the net and gun approach have been combined. OpenWorks Engineering's SkyWall100 uses compressed air to fire a net into the rotors of an offending UAV. And a UK-created 'ray gun' is going to be tested at US airports to stop drones that fly too closely to planes.


DroneShield

Since the drone gun launched, the company has claimed it has had interest, and sales leads, from a number of nations. In January 2017, the gun was used by Swiss police at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

Graubünden, a Swiss police agency, had the gun as part of prevention methods to protect the political leaders and other guests at the event. "DroneGun was selected as part of a rigorous testing process, where the customer was looking for a non-destructive yet highly effective solution for the protection of the security and privacy of the high profile delegates," the company said in a statement.