Countering drones

Counter-UAS

Protecting what matters — across airspace, CI, and operations.

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Transforming the future of drone defense

Redefining counter‑drone protection for people, critical infrastructure, and forces in a world of rapidly evolving uncrewed aerial systems (UAS).

The rapid spread of UAS has made drone defense a critical priority for governments, security agencies, airports, and critical infrastructure operators. Effective counter‑drone technology and a scalable counter‑UAS system must deliver early detection and identification – enabling a proportionate, lawful response in complex RF environments.

Drones have moved to everyday reality – and so have drone incidents. Across civil and military environments, readily available commercial UAS (COTS) are increasingly used for unauthorized surveillance, smuggling, disruption, and evolving attack scenarios. This makes counter‑drone technology and a scalable, layered counter‑UAS system a rising priority for airports, critical infrastructure operators, public security, and defense organizations.

Effective countering drones goes beyond spotting an object in the sky. It requires reliable detection and identification, continuous RF and airspace awareness, and decision support that enables a proportionate response – aligned with governance and legal constraints in a crowded spectrum.

Why countering drones is becoming urgent — fast

Drone technology is evolving at high speed

What started as hobby-grade aircraft has become a mature ecosystem: high-performance platforms, cheap components, better batteries, autonomous navigation, and AI-assisted targeting. The result is a rapidly expanding “capability curve” for malicious actors.

Threat evolution is visible in:

  • Higher speed, longer range, and improved stability (harder to track, harder to intercept)
  • Autonomy and pre-programmed missions (less dependent on radio links)
  • Swarming and multi-drone tactics (saturating defenses, omnidirectional)
  • Payload variety (surveillance, disruption, contraband, explosives)
  • Low cost and high availability (a persistent, scalable threat)

The barrier to entry is falling while mission effectiveness is rising—making drone incidents more frequent and more complex.

Rohde & Schwarz: where precision meets protection

ARDRONIS

RF detection and monitoring - see the drone before you see the drone.

ARDRONIS is a mission-proven RF-based drone detection and monitoring system designed for operation in complex RF environments. Using highly sensitive antennas and monitoring receivers in a system‑of‑systems approach, it captures and analyzes RC drone control links to enable continuous detection, classification, and localization of radio‑controlled drones. As a purely passive RF detection system, it does not emit signals and can therefore not be detected. It can be deployed as a standalone RF sensor for site protection or connected to existing security and airspace architectures – supporting rapid decision-making before drone activity disrupts operations.

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THORIS

THORIS

Coming soon: A new standard in drone defense Multi-layered, multisensor counter‑UAS. Platform-agnostic. On the move.

Drones are becoming part of everyday life: monitoring and protection must scale

Commercial drones are increasingly used in logistics, inspection, media, agriculture, emergency response, and industrial operations. This is positive — but it creates a new reality: airspace at low altitude is getting crowded, and the number of sensitive locations exposed to drone activity is growing. That means organizations need answers to questions such as:

  • What is flying near my site — authorized or not?
  • Can I distinguish a harmless drone from a threat early enough to react?
  • How do I protect people and operations without disrupting legitimate drone use?
  • How do I coordinate responses across security teams, command centers, and authorities?

Counter-UAS is therefore not only about “stopping drones.” It is about building continuous situational awareness, enforcing policies, and enabling a proportional, legally compliant response.

Which technologies are important for successfully defending against drones?

RF detection & drone monitoring

Detects and analyzes drone/control links (especially for radio‑controlled drones) to build early situational awareness. RF detection is purely passive (no emissions), so it is not visible to the opposing side – ideal for mobile detection systems.

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Radar

Long-range detection and tracking, robust in challenging weather/visibility; supports wide-area protection.

Open Lightbox

EO/IR

Visual/thermal confirmation for identification and evidence; helps operators assess intent and avoid false alarms.

Open Lightbox

C2 (command & control)

Fuses sensor data into one operational picture and orchestrates workflows and actions across teams and sites — critical for consistent response.

Open Lightbox

Countermeasures / mitigation

Countermeasures / mitigation: Depending on mission and legal framework, mitigation can include measures such as drone signal jamming, integrated into the overall concept of operations.

Open Lightbox

Where counter‑UAS matters most

Modern conflicts show drones as permanent features of the battlefield: reconnaissance, artillery spotting, loitering munitions, and attacks on logistics and command nodes. CUAS has to work in contested environments and adapt to fast-changing tactics.

Law enforcement

Law enforcement

Counter‑drone capabilities help agencies detect, locate, and respond to drones used for illicit activity — supporting safe, lawful operations.

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Critical infrastructure

Critical infrastructure

Early detection and coordinated response reduce disruption risk and help protect services, assets, and public safety.

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Defense

Defense

Commercial drones, improvised UAS tactics, and rapidly evolving UAS technology drive demand for a scalable, layered counter‑UAS capability that supports base protection and deployed operations.

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CUAS with Rohde & Schwarz: your benefits

  • Continuous visibility (RF & airspace): Persistent insight across RF and operational environments supports early risk recognition for counter‑UAS and drone defense missions.
  • Measurement‑grade data: Calibrated, time‑synchronized data provides trusted, reproducible evidence for counter‑drone operations and investigations.
  • Highest‑precision direction finding: Premium DF quality – especially bearing accuracy – for confident geolocation.
  • Pilot localization without decoding: Locate all operators/pilots by analyzing RF emissions without decoding communications content.
  • Rapid localization and response: Actionable detection and geolocation enable fast identification and targeted containment of drones, interference, and control links.
  • High‑accuracy, parallel comms disruption (full band): Highly accurate, simultaneous jamming across the full frequency range, as mission and legal framework allow.
  • Reliable communications: Resilient command and emergency communications preserve coordination during drone incidents.
  • Audit‑ready evidence: Verifiable records with clear provenance support compliance and post‑incident assurance for drone defense system deployments.
  • Governance‑aligned operations: Workflows and evidence support consistent, lawful decision‑making under legal and regulatory constraints in counter‑UAS scenarios.
  • Turnkey operational delivery: End‑to‑end delivery and lifecycle support reduce complexity for counter‑drone systems over time.
  • Sector‑tailored expertise: Proven domain knowledge translates counter‑UAS technology into reliable performance under real‑world constraints.

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