Find out what happened in the Abu Dhabi drone attack, how nuclear power plants in Sweden were spied on, and how cargo deliveries occur in Italian prisons. Mostly, find out how to prevent those drone attacks thanks to the radar system, DJI AeroScope.
As the popularity of drones continues to grow, this has posed potential challenges to the security and protection of areas such as airports, prisons, power plants, and various government facilities and infrastructure.
In the past months, there have been numerous reports of drone attacks. Most notably, the one in Abu Dhabi at an oil depot and in Sweden at a nuclear power plant.
In Italy, there are an estimated 12,000 illegal flights per day of which 5 percent are on sensitive targets.
In recent months there have been dozens of reports of “special items” being delivered to prisons throughout Italy.
Intelligence sources think that soon drones could also be used for attacks around the world!
Traditional protections in these places may not be able to adequately detect and monitor UAVs and prevent possible incidents. DJI AeroScope, on the other hand, can identify the vast majority of the most popular drones on the market today by monitoring and analyzing their signals. Flight information can be obtained that enables users to protect the integrity of their sensitive environment from an unauthorized flight.
What is DJI AeroScope?
DJI AeroScope is a comprehensive drone detection platform designed by DJI that quickly identifies communication links between drones and radio control. It collects information such as flight status, routes, and other information in real-time. This monitoring data stream helps prevent any kind of problems that the drone might cause.
DJI AeroScope is available for continuous large-scale site protection, with the stationary unit allowing customization and set-up according to the specific site where it is to operate and user requirements to fully cover the surrounding airspace. Under ideal conditions, the system can monitor a range of up to 50 km and obtain critical information from drones in real-time.
The monitoring data provided by AeroScope can be integrated with existing security systems to efficiently provide an integrated monitoring system.
This system supports public cloud, private cloud, and local deployment, which can meet specific needs such as off-site monitoring and data segregation.
The DJI AeroScope local server is the core of a complete security system for drone tracking. Using advanced information management technology, this system provides central monitoring, command, and investigation tools, integrating with data collected from previous flights.
It is a comprehensive and cost-effective system for companies to monitor drones and help make public airspace safer. It also supports a Software Development Kit (SDK) to meet specific customer requirements and support integration with other systems.
Dronedubai.ae, a DJI Enterprise dealer since 2008, has completed numerous installations and integrations of DJI Aeroscope radar around the world including Italy, Oman, Saudi Arabia, UAE, and many other countries.
DJI Aeroscope Operating Specifications.
System functionality
The remote ID is the strength that enables AeroScope to identify drones in flight. Through the remote ID, it can identify position, altitude, speed, and direction, as well as the position of the pilot and the serial number of the drone itself. The remote ID also provides the ability for the pilot to enter a string arbitrarily, so as to report the authorization code or permit code obtained, to avoid being identified as illegal. This element is a key component in enabling the integration of drones into the air traffic of traditional flights (UTM).
AeroScope’s Geofencing system allows areas around the installation site to be established so that detections can be organized. Geofencing allows the creation of an arbitrarily established “warning zone” and “alert zone,” with the ability to direct notifications to a specific department, creating a more efficient network to take action more swiftly.
DJI drones are the most popular drones in the world; in fact, the Chinese company has about 75 percent of the market share. AeroScope can intercept the signal coming from the drone and direct it to the radio controller, reading the telemetry data and making it visible in clear to the operator. This architecture is more robust and unambiguous, compared to electro-optical systems that identify the physical object in flight.
DJI AeroScope is both accurate and reliable for tracking drones within your airspace. When a drone enters the range of AeroScope’s antennas, the user can view clear and unambiguous information, making it extremely easy to manage large areas and especially multiple drones simultaneously.
What makes the AeroScope system unique is the ability to identify not only the location of the drone but also the location of the pilot controlling it. This data is critical in allowing investigation and intervention to be directed directly to where it is needed. It thus opens up many possibilities, especially for investigation and control operations.
Some environments are not suitable for “classic” radars because of the severe impact these “active” systems have on receivers at other facilities. Airports must comply with stringent regulations to avoid interference with aviation communication systems. This requires the use of “passive” systems that do not create noise for other devices. AeroScope being a completely passive system is the best solution when these types of scenarios arise.
Yemen, Houthi rebels attack Abu Dhabi city with drones
A few months ago in the United Arab Emirates, three people including two Indian nationals and one Pakistani were killed in attacks carried out by Yemeni Houthi insurgents against three oil depots.
The oil tankers hit were located near an Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. storage facility in the Musaffah area. According to Abu Dhabi police, drones fell into the two areas and may have caused the explosion and fire.
This attack could have been avoided if there had been a drone monitoring system installed in the air. DJI Aeroscope for example is a detection system that can cover a wide range (up to 20 km) and also indicate the position of the pilot, the trajectory of the drones, and other useful parameters.
The airport where Etihad Airways was building a new terminal was also hit during the attack. DJI AeroScope is often used at airports precisely to prevent drones from flying illegally in no-fly zones, so its use, in this case, would certainly have indicated the ongoing attack to the authorities in time in case a DJI drone was used
To get a clear picture of the geopolitical situation, the UAE has been at war in Yemen since early 2015 against the Houthis after the group invaded Yemen’s capital and ousted the internationally supported government from power.
Finally, the Houthis have previously attacked airports such as Abu Dhabi and the Barakah nuclear power plant using explosives carried by airborne drones. The group has also fired missiles at Saudi airports, oil facilities, and pipelines, as well as used booby-trapped boats for attacks in major sea lanes.
Drone sightings in Sweden over nuclear power plants
In Sweden recently mysterious drones were seen flying over three nuclear power plants, two airports, and institutional sites such as the parliament and government offices.
Sapo security services have opened an investigation, while police and coast guards are searching the islets and sea near Stockholm, the BBC reports.
It is still early to be able to identify those responsibly, but the sightings coincide with heightened military alert over tensions between Russia and the West over Ukraine.
The latest sighting was last night, a drone flew over the Forsmark nuclear plant, while others had been seen over the Ringhals and Oskarshamn power plants. According to the Aftonbladet newspaper website, a drone flew in circles over the parliament and government buildings and also over the royal residence at Drottningholm Palace over the weekend. Other drones were also seen near Kiruna and Lulea airports.
The drones are suspected of being involved in “serious and unauthorized acts of secret intelligence gathering,” a Sapo official, Fredrik Hultgren, told the BBC.
DJI AeroScope would have been able to detect and identify the drones through the signal that connects them to the radio control. In this case, it would also have been possible to determine the location of the pilots and intervene in time to prevent consequences and facilitate investigations.
Illegal operations on penitentiaries with drones
More and more often we read in the news, about operations to deliver weapons drugs, and cell phones to prisons carried out through the use of drones. Although drone overflight is illegal near these areas, this does not reduce the frequency of these flying activities.
The method used by abusers is always to connect the illicit material to the drone via a cable, then have it approach a window or opening inside the correctional institution and let the inmate take possession of the cargo and distribute or hide it as directed.
Now, all over the world to prevent illegal flights over sensitive areas, the DJI Aeroscope radar system is being adopted, which allows detection in time for action to be taken. DJI AeroScope, therefore, is an innovative and completely reliable system that allows you to track all incoming UAS so that it can detect and intervene in UAS not only in penitentiaries but also airports, government sites, law enforcement agencies, power plants, military agencies, and authorized security institutions.
It is worth pointing out that about 70 percent of penitentiaries in the United States have DJI Aeroscope drone radar installed while in Italy there is still no protection.
The Aeroscope system, which by the way is affordable and competitive, could prevent many crimes even within the prisons themselves.
Who to contact for DJI Aeroscope installation?
Dronedubai.ae has more than 120 DJI Aeroscope radar system installations worldwide.
There are numerous partnerships with government agencies, airports, multinational companies, and energy and oil companies.
If you are interested in installing DJI AeroScope on your sensitive site, you can contact us for more info, a personalized quote, or a demo.
