A photograph has emerged of an anti-drone weapon at a US military fire base in Iraq. The backpack-sized anti-drone system is likely there to kill any drones the Islamic State might use to reconnoiter the fire base's defenses.

The weapon appears to be a DroneDefender. As reported by Popular Mechanics earlier this year, the Department of Defense and Department of Homeland Security both placed contracts for a total of 100 of the guns, which look like a cross between a TV antenna and an assault rifle.

DroneDefender works by disrupting the link between operator and unmanned aerial vehicles with a stream of radio energy, jamming the signal. Once jammed, DroneDefender can take over a drone, ordering it to land.

The weapon appeared in a photograph tweeted by Peter W. Singer, co-author of the futuristic war novel . Drones play a prominent role in the book, which is centered around a imaginary war between China and the United States. The book had been sent complimentary to U.S. forces in Iraq, who sent the photograph as gesture of thanks. The picture was taken at the Kara Soar Counter-Fire Complex.

Mindful of its own success with drones and the proliferation of inexpensive hobby drones, the U.S. military has been increasingly worried about the use of unmanned vehicles against its own forces. A drone can be used to scout out the defenses of a fire base, locating targets for mortar and artillery fire. It could also be loaded with explosives and sent on a one-way mission.

Small and fast, drones can be difficult to shoot out of the air with assault rifles and machine guns. DroneDefender, on the other hand, uses a radio antenna that fires a wider, cone-like beam of radio energy, much like a shotgun. Unlike conventional weapons, DroneDefender can also be used without worrying about collateral damage.

Here's a demonstration video of DroneDefender in action, by designer Battelle Labs:

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Source: Peter W. Singer via The Washington Post

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