Elta Systems, a subsidiary of Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) announced on Monday that its “Drone Guard” – a new anti-drone solution – has successfully passed tests at several large international airports, according to a report by the Globes business daily.

There has been increasing demand for dome protection systems since Gatwick Airport in London – the UK’s second busiest airport – was forced to suspend flights in December 2018 during the busy holiday season due to drones in the runaway areas, affecting 1,000 flights and disrupting the travel plans of over 100,000 people. After 36 hours of flights being unable to take off, the British army deployed the “Drone Dome” system – an anti-drone system developed by Rafael, an Israeli defense company.

The Elta Drone Guard detects, tracks, identifies and disrupts rogue drones using a multi-layer sensor system that includes 3D X-band radar, a COMINT system that classifies the drone by its transmission, an EO/IR camera used to classify the detected object and a Jammer that neutralizes and intercepts the object. The system is configured to operate in an airport environment and doesn’t interfere with an airport’s normal operation. Its X-Band radar doesn’t interfere with airport radars that usually operate in S-Band.

“Drone Guard system is operational worldwide and was used to protect major events such as the G20 in Argentina last year, ELTA CEO Yoav Tourgeman said. “We are proud to provide the Drone Guard system to some of the main airports around the world. Since the Drone Guard is lightweight, transportable and easy to set up, we have been able to meet these demands with an excellent level of performance. In September, we participated in the REP(MUS) 19 NATO exercise in Portugal where we successfully demonstrated the Drone Guard’s ability to protect harbors against hostile drones, UASs, USVs and other airborne and surface threats.”

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)