FAA Selects AUDS

The United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has recently chosen a system developed in the United Kingdom which is capable of detecting and disabling unwanted drones near airports. This system is known as anti-unmanned aerial vehicle defense system, or AUDS, and was created by the collaboration of three companies: Blighter Surveillance Systems, Chess Dynamics, and Enterprise Control Systems. The AUDS will be supported by Liteye Systems in the United States.

The anti-unmanned aerial vehicle defense system is capable of identifying a drone as far as six miles away through the use of an electronic scanning radar from Blighter Surveillance Systems, tracking this drone automatically through daylight and infrared cameras from Chess Dynamics, and disrupting its flight through the use of a radio jammer from Enterprise Control Systems. It typically takes 8 to 15 seconds for the anti-unmanned aerial vehicle defense system to detect, track, disrupt, and defeat unwanted drones.

The FAA contacted our team following the success of AUDS at US Government sponsored counter-UAV trials at the end of 2015.

said Mark Rad-ford, the Chief Executive Officer of Blighter Surveillance Systems.

These trials confirmed that our production system was able to detect, track, disrupt and defeat a range of micro, mini and larger drones, even on unscripted sorties.

According to Blighter Surveillance Systems, the Federal Aviation Administration receives more than 100 reports each month for unmanned aircraft flying too close to a manned airplane or airport. The Federal Aviation Administration has been evaluating technologies which are capable of detecting and identifying unwanted drone flights near airports.

As part of a program called Pathfinder, the FAA is evaluating technologies that can detect and identify unauthorized drone flights near airports, and part of this is an R&D deal with Lit-eye Systems to test AUDS at selected US airports.

said Steve Bush from Electronics Weekly.

Applications are also foreseen at boarders, nuclear power stations, oil refineries, political events and sporting events.