Why Radar Is Essential for Public Safety Drone Detection at Public Events
In a co-authored opinion article titled “How law enforcement can detect and apprehend criminal drone pilots at large events,” Yaniv Mendelson, Director of Business Development at Echodyne tells Police1’s audience how drones are an escalating threat at concerts, sports events and other public gatherings, and the crucial role that multi-layered drone detection technology can play in tracking and identifying bad actors.
Writing alongside Robert Tabbara, founder and CEO of AirSight, the two point out that a highly publicized sighting at the Baltimore Ravens’ M&T Bank Stadium in January caused the National Football League (NFL) to rethink its security strategy. A second high-profile sighting at a Green Day concert in Detroit led to the band being rushed off stage and the performance halted as security assessed the threat.
Such incidents are made more complex by the fact that current Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) law prevents police or security from stopping a drone in flight, even if it poses a threat, as drones enjoy the same protection as other aircraft in the National Airspace System (NAS).
“Criminal actors can use drones to cause myriad disruptions, including everything from delaying the game or concert to evacuating a venue, to more serious and dangerous scenarios such as smuggling in contraband or carrying out targeted attacks. These concerns are exacerbated by the fact that drones are increasingly able to carry larger payloads, raising their potential to transport weapons or bombs into crowded spaces.”
What needs to happen
- Teamwork between event security and law enforcement has never been more critical
- Drone detection technology is an essential line of defense for mitigating risks posed by unauthorized UAVs
- Drone detection technology uses a “multi-layered approach” with a variety of sensors able to identify and track UAVs in real time
- High-performance drone detection technology solutions use a combination of optical sensors, RF sensors and radar sensors
- Radar systems can track small aircraft like drones in all weather and lighting conditions
- ‘Dark drones’ are customized to be undetectable by RF sensors, highlighting the importance of a multi-sensor approach
- High-performance drone detection systems collect huge amounts of data which is useful to law enforcement in dealing with drones
- Key tactics include locating and apprehending the pilot, halting events, and alerting the FBI who are legally allowed to mitigate drone threats by physical means
“Radar is the core provider of data that informs and validates all the other sensors used in the multi-layered approach. Since it is not reliant on the drone’s communication system for detection, it’s considered an essential sensor layer that’s crucial in detecting drones of all sizes, speeds, and classification.”
Read the full article on Police1 with analysis of the role of law enforcement and the most effective tactics for dealing with drone threats here.