Battelle To Introduce Third Version Of DroneDefender Jammer By Yearend

Battelle is developing a third version of DroneDefender UAV jammer that will integrate all external components as a fully contained unit.

DroneDefender, which adopts a rifle-like form factor, emits an electronic signal that jams a ground controller's command and control (C2) and GPS being used to fly a small UAV. The company expects to introduce the new system at the end of 2016, IHS Janes reported Tuesday.

The system is designed for use against Group 1 and 2 UAVs - those weighing less than 24.9 kg, with a speed of less than 250 kt, and able to reach an operating altitude of no more than 3,500 ft. Besides commercially available UAVs, compatible targets include the RQ-11 Raven, WASP, and ScanEagle.

Once the C2 or GPS signal is jammed these UAVs are reprogrammed to hover in place and land safely or return to their home base, Kimberly Stambler, business development mission and defence technologies for Battelle, told IHS Jane's on 16 May at the annual Navy League Sea-Air-Space symposium in National Harbor, Maryland.

DroneDefender is presently powered by a backpack-mounted battery that is connected via cables. The backpack with the battery weighs about 4.5 kg and combined with the emitter, which is made of plastic, the entire system weighs approximately 7.2 kg, Stambler said.

"We are moving toward a next generation system that won't need a backpack. It will be a fully contained unit with all the electronics and battery contained in the rifle stock," Stambler said.

DroneDefender has a range of 400 m and does not require a direct 'shot' to defeat a small UAV. Stambler said all a user has to do is point the system in the general direction of the air vehicle within a 30° cone. It takes less than a second to attain full functionality from a cold start.