Tel Aviv: Israeli company Elbit Systems has demonstrated the full capability of its ReDrone modular, multi-mission, multi-sensor counter-UAS (CUAS) solution for the detection, identification (classification), tracking and defeat of drones.
The full system was deployed in Eastern Israel especially for the demo and it was operated against multi-rotor drones and a fixed wing UAV. The ReDrone features multi-layered protection against UAS threats. The systems uses some soft kill measures like jamming / take-over and by hard-kill measures such as projectiles and missiles.
According to Elbit Systems, the open architecture of the system enables its operation in different ‘user environments’. Elbit officials that were present at the demo, said that the ReDrone can be provided in a mobile, portable, transportable, vehicular or fixed configuration.
“The system can be tailored to customer requirements for deployment and installation at different sites, including airports, ports, prisons, government and public facilities, borders and military bases,” said one of the officials.
The systems’ SIGINT Passive RF Detection and DF is based on fast wideband SDR receivers and DF antenna arrays.
Elbit explained that the SIGINT subsystem enables detection of drones by handling the high and low RF spectrum variations within the drone’s frequency bands, up to 8 km range with 360° coverage.
“The system’s capability to analyse a wide spectrum enables it to detect a variety of hostile drones,” according to an  official.
Detected drones and RCs are classified according to the ReDrone database, which provides the drone type and transmission protocol (i.e. DJI Lightbridge, DJI OcuSync, etc.). In addition, a smart machine algorithm, unique to Elbit Systems, identifies unknown drone RF transmissions.
The Systems’ mobile, portable and ruggedized RF jamming subsystem, consists of a main jamming unit including wideband SDR units (exciters), high-power amplifiers and RF components. An omnidirectional and directional antenna array, with no moving parts, jams communication between the operator and the drone, as well as the drone’s navigation system (GNSS).
When a hostile drone is detected, RF communication signals between the systems and the drone at the detected frequency band are neutralised. To achieve a positive neutralisation of the threat additional potential GPS and communication frequency bands can be simultaneously jammed.
According to Elbit Systems, the ReDrone’s radar is operating in the X-Band (9-10 GHz), the software defined AESA
3D Radar system incorporates hundreds of digital receivers, sophisticated algorithms and computing cores with Artificial Intelligence capabilities. The Radar simultaneously detects, identifies and tracks thousands of objects of various sizes and velocities – including agile, compact targets – with a latency suitable for real-time performance, without target prioritisation.
The Elbit officials said that the systems is already operational in different sites. They were not ready to comment on any possible use of the system by the Israeli defence forces.
The officials said that the interest in the systems has reached an all-time peak. “Recent developments in drones being used in a war has, increase the interest in our very advanced system,” one of them said.
-The writer is an Israel-based freelance journalist. The views expressed are of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of Raksha Anirveda
