Protecting the Sky

Signal Monitoring of Radio Controlled Civilian Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and Possible Countermeasures

This whitepaper provides insights into the use, specifications, and impact of Radio Controlled (RC) Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (commonly referred to as “drones”). UAVs intended for recreational use are increasingly being used for other (sometimes hostile) purposes. These include: observing/disturbing public events, spying in protected areas, smuggling contraband into prisons, endangering/threatening commercial air traffic, and entering restricted airspace.

A technical approach for countering the threats posed by such drones is described, and includes:

• Monitoring the spectrum for relevant signals
• Identification of frequency-agile RCsignals
• Direction finding
• Possible defensive countermeasures