Lockheed pairs drone with counter-UAS system

Aug. 24 (UPI) -- Lockheed Martin's Indago quadrotor drone is to be paired with a Danish system to detect and identify unmanned aerial system aircraft and their pilots, the companies involved announced this week.

The counter-UAS system is the KNOX by MyDefense Communications and is being jointly developed under a new agreement between the companies.

"KNOX technology will enable Indago users to identify unmanned aerial system pilots who are operating their systems illegally," MyDefence Communication Chief Executive Officer Christian Steinø said in a press release.

"MyDefence Communication is an R&D company. One of our research areas cover combating the malicious use of drones in the public domain. Over the past year, we have noticed a growing need among our customers not only to detect and neutralize a drone, but also to find and prosecute the drone pilot."

The KNOX system is an alarm and protection capability. Paired with Indago, it will gather real-time information about a suspect drone and its pilot.

The KNOX system sounds an alarm when an unknown drone is detected in an area of interest and information on the target search area is transmitted to an Indago ground station. Indago can then be deployed to locate the unknown drone operator.

Real-time imagery of a potential subject can be provided to law enforcement for apprehension of the suspect pilot.

KNOX can also disturb the suspect drone's communications at the drone's wireless frequency.

Lockheed said the pairing of Indago and KNOX would be useful to protect critical infrastructure.