The use of small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for interception purposes is not new. The “Coyote” low-cost, rail-launched drone from RTX in the United States is the most notable weapon of this type, initially developed as a modular UAV for various purposes, including reconnaissance, strike, and submarine launch. 

It was later transformed into an interceptor by attaching a small rocket engine, with prices ranging from $100,000 to $200,000 per unit, making it one of the market leaders in combat drones. Recently, the U.S. Army announced a new contract for 600 Coyote interceptors.

The new Korean anti-drone system is expected to be similar and based on a specialized trailer equipped with tube-launcher modules for interceptor drones. Upon detecting an enemy UAV, an interceptor drone is immediately launched from the launcher container for interception.

The launched interceptor drone is equipped with detection radar and a data transmission line connected to ground control equipment. Prior to approaching the hostile UAV, the detection radar informs the interceptor drone of the enemy UAV’s location through the data transmission channel and closes in on it. When it gets close enough, the electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) guidance system installed on the interceptor drone’s head tracks the drone to its end and intercepts it through self-blow up.

According to the Agency for Defense Development (ADD), development of this project began in the fourth quarter of last year, with the Basic Design Review (PDR) soon to be completed, followed by the Detailed Design Review (CDR). After the interceptor drone completes its flight, expected in the fall of this year, interception tests with an actual UAV are planned to be conducted by the second half of next year. The interception test will also include targeting a small UAV.

Malaysia will get drones and fast interceptor boats for surveillance and monitoring of its maritime borders from Japan’s Official Security Assistance (OSA) grant aid.

Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan was responding to news reports the aid was to boost Malaysia’s maritime security, as Asian nations sought to counter threats in its maritime waters.

“Our maritime borders are vast, we can’t set up outposts on every island. So we looked at the available technology and found drones can be effective, and the fast interceptor boats are needed to catch up with intruders or for rescue operations,” he said when asked on the reports during the Malaysian diaspora event here today.

On Saturday, Mohamad, representing the Defence Minister, signed the exchange of notes of the OSA, witnessed by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida.

Credit:  New Atlas

Ordinarily, drones flying around airports are thought of as a hazard. The AtlasNEST system, however, utilizes drones to fly over landing areas where problems may be occurring, in order to give control tower workers a bird’s eye view.

Developed by Latvian firm Atlas Aerospace, AtlasNEST consists of an outdoor docking station which houses one of the company’s AtlasPRO tricopter drones. Multiple stations can be set up around one airport, depending on how large and/or busy that airport is. All that’s required for each station is an electrical outlet.

Credit: dailymail.co.uk

Credit: Military.com

Drones are Incredible. Nonetheless, if the wrong person gets their hands on them they could employ them for sinister purposes.

To combat the potential risks that drones might pose, a large number of businesses worldwide, including technical powerhouses like Boeing and Lockheed Martin, are developing anti-drone weaponry.

The anti-drone or also knows as the counter unmanned aerial vehicles (C-UAV) refers to a variety of countermeasures intended to either kill or disable a target drone. These can take the shape of small, portable weapons resembling conventional projectile guns, as well as bigger, artillery-scale equipment and even intelligent missiles.

They were primarily created to guard against security lapses caused by drones being exploited for criminal or hostile purposes. For instance, military drones can be utilised to transport payloads to possible targets and to supply contraband to detainees.

Drones may purposefully deviate into aircraft flight paths or violate security in order to snap pictures or record videos.

You can now buy drones online. There are a variety of anti-drone equipment available to purchase online right now, including anti-drone portable weapons and bazookas.

Just be careful to research them thoroughly before making a purchase. For instance, before investing your hard-earned money, be sure they are not prohibited by local legislation.

Listed below are a few examples of anti-drone weaponry from various countries.

DroneDefender looks to be a video game character

Another illustration of a straightforward anti-drone weapon is DroneDefender. As of 2019, Dedrone has bought the system, which was initially created by Battelle.

The weapon operates by interfering with the drone’s control system and GPS, which makes it land on its own. It has the capacity to operate continuously for around two hours and weighs about 15 pounds.

The weapon has not yet been approved by the FCC and is not yet available commercially.

The best option for problematic drones is HELMD

Anti-Drone Death Rays are the natural end of anti-drone armament, according to Boeing’s High Intensity Laser Mobile Demonstration. The device, which uses high intensity lasers, is so big that it must be placed on the back of the vehicle.

It can take down drones in any weather, and it can be operated with an Xbox controller. The system can cope with objects like rockets and other aerial threats and was not intended solely as a counter-drone device.

And finally, introducing Savage, a clever anti-drone weapon.

The ground and air-to-air anti-UAV rocket may be the best part you’ve seen today, but it is by no means the least important. This missile is hell-bent on completely destroying UAVs in the air, abandoning the idea of just damaging their systems.

Savage which also stands for Smart Anti-Vehicle Aerial Guided Engagement is a brand-new class of intelligent fire and forget projectiles created by SmartRounds Inc. for usage by military and government security organisations.

In conclusion, the use of military drones on the battlefield is becoming more and more significant.

By using UAVs in the line of fire instead of boots on the ground, the U.S. government is using fewer ground troops and, ideally, saving more lives.

Drones and other automated weapons systems appear to be the way that military operations will be conducted in the future.

Do you consider that to be good or bad? What do you think about deploying UAVs for military purposes, such as carrying out drone strikes?

To reach our editorial team on your feedback, story ideas and pitches, contact us here.

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Leading UAV manufacturers DraganFly, Quantum-Systems, AeroVironment, and Teledyne Flir are just a few of the companies that have given Ukraine state-of-the-art aerial craft to defend itself in the Russian conflict, but Australian company SYPAQ Systems stands out in that supportive effort by giving Kyiv their cardboard Corvo UAVs.

Corvo UAVs are made almost completely out of cardboard and are held together by strong string or rubber bands. They are shipped in flatpacks and assembled using common materials like tape, glue, and other tools. Mounting the front-end motor and propeller with a monkey wrench is the craft’s most complicated assembly step.

These cardboard drones can fly up to 120-kilometers using pre-programmed routes. The craft’s onboard technology enables it to locate itself and maintain its course even when GPS is not available or there is severe communication jamming. Corvo will provide Ukraine’s armed forces with a low cost, expendable drone for transportation of supplies and equipment, as well as intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions.

SYPAQ’s pizza box drones can collect useful information on Russian deployments and preparations up to 60 kilometres away and return with accurate data for Ukraine soldiers to employ in preventive or proactive operations. They can also be adapted to drop explosives and have already been used against hostile targets.

The Corvo support is part of Australia’s assistance to Kyiv in fighting Russia’s incursion. If the UAVs are discovered and destroyed, all that is lost are the 2 or 3 thousand dollars they purportedly cost as well as any onboard sensors. This is a much less costly option than destroying any modified enterprise, public safety, or military-grade craft. SYPAQ is supplying 100 Corvo drones to Ukraine every month, providing a cost-efficient but highly effective aerial asset.

To reach our editorial team on your feedback, story ideas and pitches, contact us here.

In the first part of the Global Drone Conference sponsor and partner series, we interviewed Dr Syed Omar, Managing Partner of Malvus Sense.

1. What will you be exhibiting at iNNOVATE Tech Show?

This year the exhibit will be all about the technology that we are offering to the market i.e., our fleet of UAVs ranging from 7 to 40 kg with flight endurance from 1 to 8 hours. With these UAVs come various specifications of payloads for various solutions and applications.

The centre of attraction this year’s exhibit will be our own developed BVLOS capable, Radio Frequency Module (RFM) for telemetry and video transmission that complied 100% to the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC)’s requirement for Malaysian Government use. The RFM is fully developed by Malvus Sense in collaboration with Centre of Excellence for Unmanned Aerial System, University Malaysia Perlis. To complement this is our state-of-the-art analytics system that is used to analyse drones acquired data.

2. Some companies choose to purchase their own drones and hire part time technicians to conduct the drone services, instead of hiring drone services from drone companies. Is this a good idea and why?

Good or no good is the question to be answered by the company itself. Some may benefit from contracting a professional drone company while others may develop their own team according to their requirements and specifications.

Factors that may affect the decision whether to contract out or develop an in-house team are:

a) frequency of performing the drone sorties; b) size of work to be conducted; c) whether or not the drone is directly related to the core business of the company; d) the commercial viability; and e) availability of personnel, knowledge and technical know-how within the company.

3. How have you seen the evolution of the industry? How has the growth been?

We have been directly involved in the industry since 2011. Back then, we couldn’t even find the carbon rod that is needed to fabricate the body of a multirotor UAV, same thing goes to the counter-rotating propeller. Due to our passion, we cut out a plastic food container to the shape of a propeller and twisted and bent it under heat to produce a counter-rotating propeller to enable us to build our prototype. That was the scenario then…

But today….anybody can buy drones according to their requirement and budget, directly from a well-known OEM or a modular build-your-own parts!!!

4. Drones have come a long way since their primary functions of flight and navigation. Democratisation of computing technology through the availability and affordability of computing hardware, software and sensors has now pushed drone activities into commercial applications such as security, infrastructure, oil & gas, logistics, agriculture and even education. This expansion into new markets represents a huge potential for growth. According to Global Drone Market Report 2021-2026, “The global drone market size could reach up to $41.3 billion by 2026 at a 9.4 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR)”.

Tell us how your company is contributing to the IoT/AI/Big Data Analytics/Robotics/Self-Driving Vehicles/Cloud Computing industry of the nation and how the company is benefiting the clients.

In 2017, Malvus Sense conducted one of the largest mapping efforts in Peninsular Malaysia. A total of 7,200km2 area has been mapped digitally. This was the first time ever a drone was used to produce such a huge digital map. The huge data was managed using Big Data Analytic tools that enables users to analyse issues hence make fast actionable decisions for efficiency of their services.

Recently, right after the pandemic, Malvus Sense once again pioneered a breakthrough technology with the use of a UAV bound “Magnetic Emission Sensor” to detect and map a sub-ground metallic object. The survey was conducted successfully eliminating the use of an on-foot Ground Penetrating Radar. The technology saves time, manpower and cost. It was pitched by a few renown institutions that the sensor can also be used in detection of metallic objects in Search and Rescue situations such as in searching for crashed airplane or helicopters in thick and dense forests or in shallow water. However, this is yet to be conducted by Malvus Sense.

Presently with Metaverse Technology, engineers at Malvus Sense are working to enable slope engineers to inspect slopes from the comfort of their own office. A 3D Metaverse model of various slopes along the federal roads of Peninsular Malaysia will be developed for this purpose. The aim is to optimize work time, create cost reduction, eliminate the need for frequent engineering re-visit henceforth induce step-up in safety by eliminating the need to climb the slopes.

5. Mention some of the awards, achievements, recognitions, and clients’ feedback that you feel are notable and valuable for the company.

The humble start of Malvus Sense was once driven by only three personnel, today we’ve grown into this amazing team of over 50 personnel, striving together, persistent and resilient. We learn, we acknowledge, we embrace then we celebrate every little journey that brings to what we are today.

Malvus Sense Sdn. Bhd. has been ranked at number 35 in the world by Drone Industry Insight under “Drone Service Provider Ranking 2021”. Drone Industry Insight delivers market intelligence in commercial-based drone industry globally; ranging from market report, industry database, current market trend and future potentials.

We are also delighted to share another notable milestone of Malvus Sense when we became the FIRST and ONLY UAV company to be audited and successfully achieved safety assurance performance rating “PETRONAS Aviation Safety Certification” by PETRONAS Aviation Safety. This certification is a comprehensive audit exercise by PETRONAS to ensure the company is at par with the set aviation technical standard. With this recognition given by PETRONAS, it is evident that Malvus Sense is competent in executing any scope i.e. Operations, Engineering, Safety Management and the Assurance of Quality that is required for drone aviation services.

We also wish to highlight the dedication of our team for their admirable effort in achieving the ‘Authorised Maintenance Organisation’ status by Directorate General Technical Airworthiness (DGTA) Malaysia. Despite of it being an on-going process, we would like to stress that we are fully committed in complying and adhering to the underlined requirements of the organization to ensure all our activities met the specifications of the airworthiness standard hence our flight operations are conducted legally and safely. In order to comply to that Malvus Sense is proud to announce that our new Drone MRO facilities will be fully operational in Tiara Sentral Nilai by mid-September 2022.

6. Do you have a message you would like to share with our readers?

In this challenging and competitive environment ever, the one thing that I will always want to share especially to our rising generation; is……..don’t ever quit, don’t ever put a stop to your efforts. I’m well aware of the brutal and fierce world out there especially now more than ever; the constant arising of worldwide crisis shaking us whenever we read the headlines in the tabloids or social media; for that we should pause for a moment to allow some self-reflection with everything that is happening around us and take it a step at a time.

I know it’s hard out there and it’s getting harder by day. Yet, it should never be a reason for anyone to stop fighting and quit. Be it you are managing a dynamic and vibrant company; starting a new business or even working on a 9 to 5 job, everyone should give themselves a chance to fight and excel. The world will never stop for anyone!!! And with that, we need to be out there and fight to have a place in it. How we make the best of opportunities and overcome challenges and strive to become better and better each day will define us. It is always important to see things from different perspectives and angles.

MALVUS SENSE IS A SPONSOR AT THE INNOVATE TECH SHOW 2022 AT MATRADE KUALA LUMPUR FROM 19-21 OCTOBER 2022 WHERE THE GLOBAL DRONE CONFERENCE IS CO-LOCATED. MAKE SURE TO VISIT THEIR SPACE WHICH IS LOCATED NEAR THE MAIN STAGE AT HALL B.