New Anti-Drone Gun Can Safely Disable UAVs

If you’ve ever seen a drone fly over your property, you’ve probably felt the urge to shoot the damn thing down with extreme prejudice. However, doing so would carry a few risks. You don’t know what that drone is going to crash into after you pull the trigger, and you may find yourself in a small claims court for damaging someone’s toy.

Fortunately, a better solution has arrived. The Battelle Drone Defender is a 10 pound rifle that shoots electromagnetic waves in a 30 degree cone. The waves are tuned to the most commonly used ISM and GPS frequencies, that drones use to communicate with their controllers. Once you pull the trigger, the radio waves safely disable the drone, and it can be guided to the ground from up to 400 meters away. While the technology behind this tool is hardly new, this is probably the first counter-drone device that is this portable.

The Drone defender is clearly being marketed to the military, law enforcement, and private security. According to the lead researcher for the project “this is just the kind of tool we need to safely counter a drone threat” he said in press release before adding that “it can help us in numerous settings, from the White House lawn to bases and embassies overseas; from prisons and schools to historic sites.” However, it wouldn’t be surprising to see this sold to ordinary citizens in the near future, because there isn’t any law preventing civilians from owning this technology. In any case, it’s clear that we’re witnessing the next stage of an arm race between drone and counter-drone technologies.