Equipment test shows off counter-UAV measures for airfields, battlefields
NewsDecember 12, 2017
HAMBURG, Germany. Sensor company Hensoldt recently held a demonstration of its Xpeller counter-UAV [unmanned aerial vehicle] system as part of a larger exhibition on the Airbus airfield in Hamburg-Finkenwerder.
As part of the demo, Hensoldt used a combination of radar, radio-frequency, and optical sensors plus a targeted jammer to enable full area coverage and ensure optimum surveillance of the test field. For the test, the Xpeller system was integrated into the airfield’s infrastructure and worked in concert with the other local systems. During the test, Xpeller reliably detected UAVs starting from different locations and was able to detect and identify extremely small UAVs at a distance of several kilometers.
According to company documents, the modular Xpeller works by integrating sensors -- such as radar, camera and radio frequency detectors as well as direction finders and jammers -- that can detect and identify a drone and assess its threat potential at ranges from a few hundred meters up to several kilometers. The product performs real-time analysis of the control signals and then can initiate a jammer to interrupt the link between drone and pilot or interfere with its navigation.