As the popularity of drones grows, the authorities' interest in countering threats with these types of remotely piloted aircraft grows. In Spain, the Electronic Protection Group (RPAS) of the National Police has an anti-drone rifle capable of neutralizing unmanned aerial vehicles in protected areas.
It is the UAV Jammer UAV-D04JAI , a huge anti-drone rifle manufactured by Hikvision, a Chinese company specialized in technological security equipment. Although it looks like a large conventional weapon, the main function of the Jammer is to interfere with communications between the drone and the pilot who controls it from a distance.
The operators of this technological device, which is only for sale by security authorities, have several options to counter threats with drones. These range from overriding the device's sensors to cutting the video and communication with the pilot, disabling the GPS or taking control to land in an area controlled.
The anti-drone rifle has a nine-magnification optical sight with which the security forces operator can point to carry out one or more of the aforementioned actions. Of course, it must be within the allowed range, which is between 800 and 1,000 meters. The weapon has a base station, an antenna and a battery that offers an autonomy of an hour and a half.
An anti-drone rifle to protect the skies
Spanish legislation establishes certain operating limits for drones. These cannot fly beyond 120 meters in height, they must be within visual range of the pilot. In addition, they must keep a certain number of kilometers away from protected air spaces, such as airports, military zones and places of special activities.
Precisely, due to these types of restrictions, and in the face of potential threats from these increasingly complex devices, the National Police has had to react. The anti-drone rifle has already been seen several times on the scene. One of them was in the 2019 Champions League final.
This week, the National Police has published a tweet in which they present the UAV Jammer UAV-D04JAI as one of their “most sophisticated weapons”. The anti-drone rifle certainly does not go unnoticed due to its large dimensions and technological characteristics.
