DroneShield introduces tethered airborne C-UAS capabilities

Australian company DroneShield is integrating its DroneSentry-C2 command-and-control system and a miniaturised radar into tethered unmanned aircraft systems (UASs), the latest step in the counter-UAS (C-UAS) specialist’s efforts to expand its work into new technological domains.

DroneSentry-C2 provides operators with a range of functions. It has a graphic user interface (GUI) that compiles large amounts of environmental data for the user, reducing reaction and response times, and offering an early warning system and growing detection threat capacity as more data is processed, according to the manufacturer. It provides a live monitoring capability and the capacity to manage a site from any location, while it can also interface with soft kill C-UAS effectors such as radio frequency (RF) jammers.

The new partnership with Zenith AeroTech will see DroneSentry-C2 integrated onto the former’s tethered aerial vehicles, along with a miniaturised radar, providing a UAS detection capability.

Zenith AeroTech offers three such platforms with a 5–15 kg payload capacity: Hexa, Quad 8, and Quadro. The deal enables the company to integrate DroneShield’s range of soft kill measures such as the DroneCannon or DroneGun where appropriate.

DroneShield CEO Oleg Vornik told Janes that tethered UAVs can offer several advantages in the C-UAS space. The aerial monitoring capability avoids the clutter or obstructions that can be found on the ground, or the potential for false alarms, providing improved spatial awareness.

Tethered UAVs can remain airborne for longer periods than battery-powered systems, a key advantage for monitoring fixed sites like military bases, which Vornik identified as an important target for the partnership. He asserted that these retain a high degree of manoeuvrability despite being tethered to a ground station with “the ability to adjust to wherever it needs to be, location-wise”.