Rohde & Schwarz (Australia) has announced it demonstrate counter-drone capabilities to Australian and New Zealand customers at the federal and state government levels.

A company statement says early warning of drone activity is key to countering threats, and that its R&S ARDRONIS system can detect activity even before drones take off.

“Rohde & Schwarz is acutely aware of the dangers posed by unauthorized drone activity,” Managing Director of Rohde & Schwarz (Australia) Gareth Evans said in a statement. “The disruption at Gatwick Airport in the UK has highlighted the emerging threat not only to lives, but also to economic activities and critical infrastructures.

“We are not alone in this,” he added. “The 2019 Five Country Ministerial communiqué about emerging threats has identified that, ‘the malicious, unlawful, or inadvertent misuse of drones and the data they collect can pose a risk to public safety, be deliberately used to facilitate or commit a wide range of criminal acts, and also present a threat to our national security.’

The R&S ARDRONIS package reports when a remote control has been switched on and classifies the device type. Its sensor system captures the uplink, so it can track down drone pilots while their aerial devices are still on the ground.

The R&S ARDONIS was first demonstrated at the 2015 G7 summit in Germany, and has since been used on many subsequent state visits and political summits.

A demonstration video of the R&S ARDONIS system can be found here.