A Chinese city's police department is arming itself with more than 20 drone-jamming rifles to crack down on illegal drone flights.

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Police in Wuhan, central China , are going to be equipped with 20 of these rifles, which work by emitting radio signals that force the drones to land purportedly without damaging them.

Image: Weibo

The drone-killing rifles will be used during the upcoming 2017 Wuhan Marathon, to raise security.

Image: WEIBO

Wuhan police demonstrated the drone-killing rifles last week, where they shot down six drones, according to the Chutian Metropolitan Daily.

The rifles don't come cheap, at 250,000 yuan ($36,265) each, and they will have a range of roughly 1 km (0.6 miles).

Image: Weibo

Unauthorised drone flights have disrupted airport safety in China, as well as large-scale events, according to the Wuhan police.

Earlier this year, a drone pilot in Hangzhou was arrested for flying a DJI Mavic Pro dangerously near civilian airliners. And in Hong Kong, three operators were arrested for flying a drone over a Formula E event.

Operators of drones that are more than 7kg have to be licensed, according to draft law issued by the Civil Aviation Administration of China in 2015. Rules are generally more relaxed in rural China than in urban, built-up areas, but drones must keep out of restricted airspace and follow rules set by the military and the government.

The new rules also forbid deliveries made by drone in built-up, urban areas, and require all drones to register to their place of manufacture, weight and maximum altitude before they are allowed to take off.