DroneShield releases new drone defence product

Anti-drone security measures are going from strength to strength, alongside the rapid take-up of drones in Australia. DroneShield (ASX: DRO), a Sydney-based technology company, has added a further product to its line-up, offering a range of options enhancing drone security and anti-drone defence.

The DroneGun Tactical product follows on from DroneShield’s MKII launched in December last year – a hand-held gun that interferes with radio waves received and emitted by moving aerial vehicles (drones).

Both products offer varying features and are designed to appeal to different user-groups as DroneShield continues its development as an early-stage drone security developer serving people, organisations and critical infrastructure from intrusion from drones.

Combined with its MKII and DroneGun Tactical products, DroneShield is hoping to progress its proprietary engineering and intellectual property towards establishing a strong footing in drone defence, an industry that’s keeping pace with the large take-up of drones now being bought en-masse by consumers.

According to DroneShield, the DroneGun Tactical is available for purchase from today [January 31^st] to “qualified end-users where lawful”. At a national level, legislators in different countries are approaching the issue of suitable drone defences in varying ways. In Australia, newly-introduced laws prohibit drone use higher than 120 metres (400 feet) above ground, within 30 metres of people, and, drone pilots cannot fly more than one drone at a time, according to the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA).

However, these rules do not apply to drone flyers that hold a remote pilot licence (RePL), or operate according to a remotely piloted aircraft operator certificate (ReOC), or have prior authorisation from CASA.

DroneGun Tactical product was designed following comprehensive international military end-user trials, with a number of key features, including:

• Lighter design with less carrying requirement
• Long-range effectiveness at 1km or more
• Addition of 433Mhz and 915Mhz frequencies, to ensure complete effectiveness across drone models
• Aesthetically appealing ergonomic design
• Further alignment with standard military specifications, including standardised NATO military battery power.

Last year, DroneShield received an operational boost when its MKII product was certified as compliant for human exposure. The certification was obtained in response to the DroneGun product advancing through procurement processes with a number of major defence and other government agencies internationally, for which this was a requirement requested by several agencies.

In a further boost last year, DroneShield received an Australian Government R&D Tax Incentive award of approximately $200,000 and is actively pursuing development of further products to add to its counter-drone range.