Unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), more commonly known as “drones,” presents one of the greatest military advantages on the planet today. UAS enables mission planners to gather intelligence, surveil denied areas, acquire targets, and deliver payloads across hazardous terrain, all while keeping personnel and specialists out of the field and out of harm’s way.
Today, over 20 nations employ unmanned aircraft, with the United States having the largest fleet of UAS. However, more non-state actors and enemy combatants are beginning to use drones in combat. In the Battle of Mosul, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) reportedly flew commercially available quadcopters to surveil and deliver weapons like grenades and other explosives with improvised cradles. And in early January 2018, a swarm of drones armed with bombs attacked Russian bases in western Syria. The U.S. Army needed a new wearable, squad-level system to detect and counter swarm UAS like the attack that occurred in early 2018.
The Department of Homeland Security’s and U.S. Armed Forces Small Business Initiative Research (SBIR) selected Intellisense Systems to devise a state-of-the-art airspace monitoring technology that could fit on inside a backpack or mounted on mobile vehicles. The team proposed innovations in power reduction, miniaturization, and ruggedization of radar detection and RF jamming systems that enabled this system to detect and counter both individual and swarms of UAS.
To achieve this, Intellisense needed to make several innovations in power reduction, miniaturization, and ruggedization of radar detection systems. The final design had to be small enough to be wearable, but also robust enough to withstand extreme temperatures and intense shock/vibration. Thankfully, Intellisense had a successful record in miniaturizing complex radar, RF, mmWave, and ultrasonic sensors. The Micro Weather Station (MWS®), for instance, which was also born from a similar SBIR solicitation, miniaturizes over 20 weather parameters, a solar power system, and cloud-based data logging into a robust device that only weights 4 lb. The engineers at Intellisense set out to create an anti-UAS detection system that achieves a 1-km detection range, is smaller than 100 cubic inches, cost less than $15,000 to produce, and weighs less than 3 lb.
During the development period, Intellisense successfully completed a series of trade studies that established key design parameters. They also evaluated a range of detection modalities including magnetic detection, impulse radar, FMCW, and lidar. The team ultimately determined that active scanning radar was the optimal solution for detecting enemy UAS.
Intellisense’s team also devised a more robust design of the multiple input, multiple output (MIMO) antenna array within the required volume of less than 100 cubic inches. This system actively scans a 120° x 120° zone that can be oriented upward and outward from a defensive position, like atop a backpack. Multiple units can increase the coverage and the density of protection. They also implemented a means to extend the system’s battery life by lowering duty cycle until a UAS is detected.
The engineers at Intellisense also verified the effectiveness of RF jamming of communications and GPS signals for UAS countermeasures, as well as established basic power thresholds for jamming effectiveness. These studies demonstrated how the system could jam RF bands and Global Positioning System (GPS) to prevent the UAS from being remotely controlled, or from following a GPS-driven flight plan. If it is confirmed to be hostile by Intellisense’s advanced algorithms, the system will begin the RF and GPS jamming process.
The final compact, ruggedized design of this counter-UAS device allows it to be either vehicle-mounted as well, enabling it to detect and identify possibly hostile UAS near vital personnel or equipment. Continued testing is proving the system’s efficacy, and like all RF and radar solutions from Intellisense, it will ensure the safety and security of key personnel in dangerous situations.