HOW CAN A FLYING UAV AT LOW HEIGHTS CAN

BE DETECTED FROM SYSTEMS ON GROUND?

1.OBJECTIVE:
With the proliferation of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), a series of safety and
security challenges emerged. The recent commercial availability of a new generation of small
UAV has emphasised the growing threat posed by these machines. Due to which there is an
immediate need of counter UAV technology. Our main focus is to mainly look into the basic
need, methodologies, applications and advantages of detecting an UAV.

2.INTRODUCTION:
The modern world is changing rapidly with the development of new technologies
constantly emerging and revolutionizing approaches to various tasks. Together with
significant benefits, come many ways of using technology for malicious purposes. Unmanned
aerial vehicles (UAVs), also known as drones, are aircrafts that do not carry any crew, but
rather, are operated remotely by human operators, or autonomously via pre-programmed
software or robots. UAVs vary widely in size and capacity, and have become increasingly
prevalent. Their use has increased exponentially over the last decade for a broad range of
applications, including cartography and mapping, inspection of remote power lines and
pipelines, delivery services, telecommunications relay, police surveillance, traffic monitoring,
border patrol and reconnaissance, and emergency and disaster monitoring.
From a military perspective, UAVs, which can be recoverable or expendable, are
generally used to operate in dangerous or hostile territories, without endangering the
operators. It is employed for surveillance and reconnaissance, information collection,
detection of mines, and for combat purposes. UAV hold many attractions for the military.
They are generally smaller, lighter and cheaper as compared to manned aerial vehicles as they
do not need equipment to support a crew. UAVs can also be used for many hours in a stretch,
while switching operators.
The recent commercial availability of a new generation of small UAVs, often
quadcopters or some other form of rotorcraft, has emphasised the growing threat posed by
these machines. These UAVs can be easily purchased over the internet and can carry a
payload of up to a few kilogrammes. They are cheap, easy to fly and small enough to evade
traditional security surveillance. A recreational UAV costing a few hundred dollars can be
turned into an aerial equivalent of an improvised explosive device (IED), or be equipped with
a camera and data downlink to become a spy UAV.
Counter-UAV technology can be facilitated using a wide variety of means, but focuses
on two distinct processes detection and engagement. Detection encompasses technology and
processes necessary to detect, locate, track, and identify an unmanned aircraft. Conversely,
engagement involves technology and actions to prevent, disrupt, disable, override, spoof
[mislead], or otherwise interfere with UAV operations. Engagement may also include active
measures to forcefully capture, inflict damage, or destroy the aerial vehicle. The distinction
between these processes is essential, as there are no legal ramifications for conducting UAV
detection, whereas significant legal hurdles exist to conducting engagement
3.NEED FOR DETECTION:
UAV can be used for the betterment of society or for the killing people and destroying
assents. Both the government and civilians are using drones for commercial purposes, but
this is an era where we cannot say which drone is good and which is rouge so there is an
immediate requirement for the best counter UAV solutions and standards to safeguard civil
aviation against possible UAV and drone attacks. They are silent killers and are hard to detect
and can be used to wage war with plausible deniability. UAV represent one of the biggest
shifts in aerial warfare and was never in doubt. There are organisations where they
weaponised ordinary reconnaissance drones with missiles and used them as killing machines
to hunt down their enemies and exploitation of airspace with weapons which was a privilege
of the state and its militaries so far but which has been compromised now.
In 2013, Germany’s Pirate Party flew a small multirotor drone in close proximity to the
German Chancellor Angela Merkel at an open-air rally, leading many to speculate about the
ease with which a drone could attack an otherwise highly secured area. This incident
highlighted the ease with which drones can disrupt our current way of working. Since then
there have been multiple scenarios where drones have disrupted the security and privacy and
aided in penetration where otherwise difficult. Given below are a few examples:
 In August 2018, a failed assassination attempt against Venezuelan President Nicolás
Maduro was mounted with explosive-armed drones in Caracas during a televised
national event. The drones detonated explosives above the audience which led to a
few injuries.
 In July 2018, in the UAE, terrorists claimed to have sent an armed drone to attack the
international airport in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates. While the
authorities deny the claims, the Caracas incident provides sufficient evidence that this
can be done.
 In March 2017, a woman in Washington spotted a drone outside her window and tried
to shoot it down initially using stones and then using a gun.
 In November 2016, a husband used drones mounted with cameras to catch his wife
cheating and then posted evidence of the alleged affair online.
 In January 2015, a drone crashed onto the White House lawn after its operator lost
control, prompting concerns that the US President’s residence may be vulnerable.
 Also, in 2015, a man protesting Japan’s nuclear policy dropped a drone carrying
radioactive sand from the Fukushima nuclear disaster onto the Prime Minister’s office
premises, though the amount of radiation was minimal.
 On September 14 2019, Houthi rebels, fighting a Saudi Arabia-led coalition in Yemen,
used explosive-laden drones in a pre-dawn attack on two Saudi refineries. The
devastation led to the world's largest oil producer cutting oil output by half.
There have been some of instances where drones can be used for penetrating secure
areas and capture data through remote signals which can be received through drones with
camera payloads. Given the above nature of risks, counter-UAV technologies become
important to mitigate, manage and monitor these perils. Considering the drone platform and
the number of different payloads which can be used on the platform, counter-UAV
technologies have seen extensive investment and development. The competition between
hackers who leverage technology to expose different types of risks, with or without malicious
intent, which require preparation. While the above examples are largely global, they are
possible in the Indian context and can be risks which require preparation.
4.ADVANTAGES:
Detection comprises sensor correlation, targeted visual display, and communication
alerts of UAV activity and fusing sensor data with AI (Artificial Intelligence) will conduct further
analysis and confirms the object is a UAV and by use of proprietary machine vision algorithms
to classify objects and confirm targets as threat drones including signal-emitting and non-
signal-emitting.
The key advantages of UAV detection are
 Automatic early detection and neutralization.
 High-resolution 3D flight plots of UAV in real time.
 Permits 24/7 monitoring and recording.
 Do not interfere with radio traffic and can prevent many disasters.
 Adjustable monitoring and invisible protective shield precise to the meter can be
established with these systems.
 We can eradicate the risk of spying, tracking and surveillance (Privacy risk).
 Can avoid leveraging UAV to drop harmful or explosive material into sensitive areas.
 Reliable protection for individuals, companies and facilities from any unauthorized
intruders and airborne cargo.

5.DETECTION METHODOLOGY:
Early detection and identification are the key to effective neutralization of the UAV
threat. It would provide sufficient time to make a decision on the nature of the threat and
deploy the means necessary to destroy or capture a rogue UAV. The expanding technological
capabilities of UAVs necessitate the use of several types of detection capabilities, including
the reflectance of ultraviolet, visible and infrared photons, radar reflectance, acoustic
emissions, electromagnetic emissions, and induced magnetic fields.

RADAR BASED DETECTION

Traditionally, radar technologies are used to detect flying objects in the sky, but classic
radar technologies may not be suitable in this case since, for many years, radar technology
and software were specifically tuned to avoid small objects, such as birds, and dismiss them
as noise. However, some of the radar technologies can be adapted for UAV detection. One
specific example is the electronic scanning radar, also known as AESA (Active Electronically
Scanned Array), which is currently used in fighter jets. It is a type of phased array radar in
which transmitter and receiver are made of a number of small solid-state modules. The beams
are emitted by each element and reflections received by the antenna are reconstructed.
Essentially AESA can scan large areas simultaneously without any moving parts (or minimum
movement). AESA and similar advances in radar detection of small cross-sectional items has
the advantage of being extremely versatile, both in terms of host platforms and detection
capabilities. Yet, with the variation in UAV radar cross section, even the recent advances in
AESA-type detection capabilities will be challenged to regularly and accurately identify hostile
UAV or drones.
For high-risk events and known appearances of high-risk personnel, it may be
necessary to bring in radars that have the fidelity to detect such small objects, such as the
Blighter system developed by Plextek, and operators trained to distinguish between birds and
UAV.
The above is the example of a radar-based detection system developed by Plextek for detecting UAV
Pros:
 Day/night operations, all weather performance except for heavy rain rates.
 Longer detection ranges with ranges of 2-5 km common for larger radars.
 Detections are possible even in the absence of drone RF communication, such as
waypoint flight mode.
 Simultaneous detection of multiple drones.

Cons:
 Medium probability of detection with higher false alarm rates.
 Radar returns from birds are very similar to radar returns from drones, but
sophisticated signal processing can help differentiate these targets.
 Line of sight obstacles (hills, buildings, and trees) will degrade detection performance.
360o coverage is obtained by either using multiple radar units or using a rotating
mount for the radar.

ACOUSTIC SENSING
Acoustic sensors operate by identifying the distinct noise made by the motors that
drive the propellers of UAV. These set of sensors detect specific noise signatures created by
UAV motors and propellers. Despite the advantages of being a passive sensor that is relatively
inexpensive, acoustic sensors would make ineffective standalone detection systems. For
example, these sensors have limited range, rely on matching registered acoustic sensors to a
database of known UAV signatures, suffer from high nuisance alarm rates and are not capable
of detecting gliding UAVs as those do not produce any significant noise.
Drone Shield's acoustic sensor was designed to provide high detection rates with low
false alarms. It contains a database of common UAV acoustic signatures so that false alarms
are reduced and in many cases the type of UAV is also included in the alert. This system is
being used by law enforcement officers in the US to enforce no UAV zones. A significant
advantage of acoustic sensing is that is that it has low cost, even when implemented as a
network of sensing devices placed around the protection perimeter. However, it is incapable
of detecting fixed-wing UAVs operating as gliders or rotorcraft UAVs in free fall. Sophisticated
operators could change the sound signature of a UAV by buying different propellers or making
other modifications.
Pros:
 Day/night operations. 360o coverage can be obtained using multiple microphone
arrays, but this increases the cost.
 Detections are possible even in the absence of drone RF communication, such as
waypoint flight mode.
 Simultaneous detection of multiple drones.
 Small microphone arrays with low power requirements.
 Low-Medium system cost.

Cons:
 Medium probability of detection with higher false alarm rates.
 Shorter detection ranges from 100-400m depending on obstacles in the area. Line of
sight obstacles (hills, buildings, and trees) only slightly degrades detection
performance. Ineffective in urban areas with a lot of ambient noise.
 It can be spoofed through playback of an audio recording of a UAV.

RADIO FREQUENCY (RF) EMISSION SENSING

UAVs typically send data back to their controller through a wireless data link. Using a
directional antenna or a network of synchronised ground stations, such RF emissions can be
detected and located. In order to be economical and offer rapid detection, the system must
have some knowledge of the emission centre frequency and bandwidth, which are regulated
for commercial UAV. Drone Labs DD610AR UAV detection system employs RF emission
sensing of a UAV’s command and data links to identify the coordinates of the UAV and its
operator, and the unique identifier of the UAV, which can be used to prove that a particular
incursion was done using a specific UAV. However, RF emission sensing can be easily evaded
by sophisticated operators by maintaining radio silence.
Pros:
 High probability of detection with an extremely low false alarm rate.
 Day/night operations, all weather performance, and 360° coverage using an
omnidirectional antenna.
 Medium Detection ranges of 1-3 km are common.
 Simultaneous detection of multiple drones.
 Pilot geolocation is also an option with the right conditions.
 Lightweight system with low power requirements. Low-Medium system cost.

Cons:
 Line of sight obstacles (hills, buildings, and trees) will degrade detection performance.
 If the drone is not communicating, there will be no detection.
 RF scanners are limited in their capability to accurately locate a drone in space.

ELECTRO OPTICAL BASED DETECTION

Systems based on electro-optical technology can also be used for UAV detection. They
operate through visual contact with a UAV and are usually capable of detecting, tracking and
also identifying. Some of the systems use infrared sensor pattern recognition to distinguish
between UAVs warm batteries and motors from birds bodies. Some sub-categories of electro-
optical systems include: passive visible imaging (e.g., UV, visible and near-infrared) and
passive thermal imaging (short-wave, medium wavelength and long wavelength infrared).
Visual cameras are also used for detection and tracking of UAVs. A UAV could be
detected and its path traced using a single camera by detecting motion cues, visual marks and
shape detectors. Multiple fixed ground cameras are also used in some UAV systems. Recently
neural networks have been trained to detect these cues and isolate a UAV, but they do have
high volume of false positive detections due to similarities between UAV and birds. Similarly,
newer, non-standard or customized UAV also result in high false negatives detection. All visual
cameras have a natural limitation of being ineffective in darkness. Thermal cameras are a
good option to use in darkness. These cameras capture the heat signature of UAV. While
thermal cameras also are limitations around distinguishing drones from birds, however heat
signature databases are making this distinction an easier challenge to resolve. Most of the
commercial system combine visual and thermal sensors to make them deployable in day,
night and twilight conditions.
Pros:
 Possibility to distinguish between a UAV, birds, or any other object in the sky fairly
inexpensively due to commercial availability.
 Reduction of background signal noise, enhanced night time detection and less
susceptibility to weather degradations.
Cons:
 Need for a clear unobstructed view of the object and high susceptibility to background
signal noise.
 Need to overcome fact that most UAVs have low thermal signatures

VISUAL BASED DETECTION

This approach includes human visual detection and computer-based image analysis.
To date, security personnel have been responsible for discovering rogue UAVs over nuclear
facilities. Though the use of human visual detection provides unparalleled classification
performance and almost immediate response initiation, it also requires significant man-
power (and cost) and suffers from vigilance degradation resulting from persistent and
monotonous tasks. This is exacerbated by the low (though increasing) probability of seeing
an unanticipated UAV.
Deep learning networks have also been explored for the micro-UAV detection
problem. Usually, deep learning techniques do not rely on the human crafted features for
target detection. They autonomously learn the optimal features from the captured micro-
UAV images. In convolution neural networks (CNN) are investigated for micro-UAV detection.
These deep learning-based techniques show fairly good performance. However, training CNN
networks requires huge amount of data making real-time application computationally
expensive.
Pros:
 Good probability of detection with relatively low false alarm rates.
 Better detection performance at night than during the day.
 Simultaneous detection of multiple drones.
 Detections are possible even in the absence of drone RF communication.
 Lightweight system with low power requirements.
 Moderate cost.
Cons:
 Daytime operations are possible with a more expensive sensor.
 Inclement weather degrades performance.
 The coverage is based on the field of view of the cameras and the number of
networked cameras in use.
 Limited detection ranges due to the size of the drone in the camera image.

MAGNETIC DETECTION SYSTEMS

Systems based on detection of large metal objects by their influence on
electromagnetic fields. These systems are potential useful only against large UAVs, as they
are only capable of detecting substantially large metal parts. Therefore, their biggest
disadvantage is that most of the commercially available UAVs use minimum metal parts.

COMBINED SENSORS
Typically, most of the commercially available Counter UAV integrate a variety of
different sensor types to provide a more robust detection capability. For example, a system
might include an acoustic sensor that cues an optical camera when it detects a potential drone
in the vicinity. The use of multiple detection elements may also be intended to increase the
probability of a successful detection, given that no individual detection method is entirely
failproof.

Number of considerations need to be done when evaluating a UAV detection method.

Many factors, including ambient light, weather, ambient noise, cost, line of sight and
detection range influence the effectiveness of each method. However, increased sensitivity
of various detection technologies does not always guarantee timely and positive detection of
a rogue UAV. As shown above the system of various sensors capable of detecting very small
cross-sectional UAVs can be established, various technologies are capable of doing that, the
difficulty is in data stream analysis and in the task of separating signatures of UAVs from other
small objects such as birds, flying debris, vegetation, etc. Abundance of such small objects will
lead to multiple false alarms. Reducing systems sensitivity to reduce alarms from non-UAV
objects will lead to missed detection of smaller UAVs.

6.APPLICATIONS:

A. AIRPORTS
In many countries the air traffic control reported an increase of drone sightings in the
recent years and in the event of a drone sighting, the entire airport must be closed for hours,
and sometimes even for days. This does not only cost millions, but also leads to chaotic
conditions in passenger processing. If a small UAV got into the engine of an aero plane, it
could stop the engine and several helicopter piolets have reported many close encounters
with UAV and drones.
The UAV detection system helps to locate the perpetrators within the shortest periods
possible and to display the route of all drones including the flight height. Thus, flight
interruptions are reduced to the absolute minimum, and the airport operators saves
enormous costs, and also the flight of aero planes and helicopters cannot be disturbed.
B. CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE
Due to the increase in the UAV and drone availability the protection and security for
many structures whether oil or gas refineries, pipelines, chemical plants, substations like
critical infrastructure has been largely unprotected up to now. The total failure of critical
infrastructures can have unavoidable consequences to public safety, natural habitat and
safety of society are at stake here.
The UAV detection can help in providing security for extremely large areas with high
level of accuracy, which can be easily integrated into existing infrastructure and would not
interfere with the regular habitat or the public and with high level of reliability and several
facilities can be monitored from one place which eliminates the necessity of line of sight.

C. CULTURAL AND SOCIAL EVENTS

Targeted attacks by drones over event sites are unfortunately becoming more
frequent and often cause very significant damage and they can generate mass panic.
Organizers also may lose many valuable equipment which causes disruption to radio traffic.
UAV can also be used to spray a weaponized chemical or biological agent over a crowd of
people which can also create loss of life in large scale.
The UAV detection can avoid the loss of life and does not create the disruption to radio
traffic and is not even noticeable to the visitors and can be deployed flexibly in urban and
rural area including high resolution 3D flight plots which can reliably protect events of any
size without any human effort.

D. MILITARY
Whether in the desert, on the ice, or in the jungle the protection of military properties
is of great importance. When used in the flight against state and military, a single targeted
threat by a drone or UAV can have devasting consequences for national security and safety,
so detection and dissolving of UAV is an important task and should be done with utmost
accurate detection.
The UAV detection technology provides protection against the hostile or unauthorized
UAV which can help in a number of environments which are fully integrated as a system and
can also provide enhancements to the tracking and identification capabilities of any military
system as well as a counter measure option for safety and protection. Detection can also help
military personal of avoiding a UAV carrying explosives and preventing a disaster.

E. POLICE AND FIRE DEPARTMENTS

Drones and UAV can massively obstruct police protection. The widespread domestic
use of drones for surveillance seems inevitable but this is a huge risk for the public security
and privacy which has to be reduced and there are many cases where the criminal
organizations or individuals have used UAV to smuggle illicit material and these have to be
reduced for public safety. Unauthorized UAV during a forest fire or any huge fire incidents
have stopped the help operations in many instances which has caused some irreversible
changes and should be avoided.
The exclusive anti UAV systems can be helpful for prevention of evidence and can
easily help police department to provide a safe and secured environment and can easily
monitor and avoid any disaster beforehand. Fire departments can also employ these systems
and can avoid any time delay or obstruction to their work.
F. CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES
Legislators have set up many flight ban zones for UAV and drones over all correctional
facilities and penal system facilities because of weapons, mobile phones, dangerous weapons,
contraband and other illegal goods are always getting in to these facilities through the air
space and these incidents are increasing daily which has to be completely eradicated for
public and also building safety. Through early identification and detection of UAV these can
be avoided and can also have a complete monitoring of the airspace.

G. PERSONAL SECURITY
Protecting the privacy of one individual is the utmost importance and for a VIP their
protection and privacy are extremely important because being shielded from the paparazzi is
part of everyday life for people in the public eye and many incidents of drones near VIP
created a viable threat to them and also with availability of cheap UAV which can land and
take off vertically are of serious concern. The detection system can help to precisely identify
a rouge drone’s vulnerabilities and then deploy counter measures.

H. YACHTS AND SHIPS

Unexpected drones endanger human lives on board of a yacht or a ship. Salt water,
vibration, heat are extreme challenges to a drone detection system on board a ship. Drone
Detection System should adapt dynamically to the movement of the ship and is not impaired
by the ship’s radar and does not interfere with any ship-related electronics. It should also be
easily adapted to the shape and contour of the yacht or ship and should seamlessly integrate
into ship systems and thus protect privacy successfully

I. BORDER PROTECTION
UAVs and Drones at national borders at extreme altitudes are no longer a rare feature.
Due to the long range and flight heights, drones are being used increasingly for border
espionage or for smuggling over borders. Most drones today have first person view (FPV)
along with HD resolution capabilities. This helps drone operators to remotely observe and
track movements of objects of interest. The case of drone sightings has been recorded
recently near the Punjab border (Tarn Taran district) capable of carrying a 4kg payload by
Pakistan based Khalistan zindabad force to infiltrate weapons from across the international
border. Unmanned aerial vehicles currently pose a disproportionate threat to ground forces
due to the inability of most sensors to detect them. UAVs, as small, low-velocity aircraft,
present weak signatures to RF, EO, and IR systems. By early detection and establishing
counter attack systems we can easily eradicate these infiltrations in to our own airspace and
also can reduce the human effect at Border.

7.FURTHER DEVELOPMENTS:
Detection can help us in finding or identifying an illegal or rouge UAV and Emerging
Technology offers an array of ways to counter a UAV which is also a essential part to provide
complete security and protection but they are in developing stage and some of the methods
are already in use by military, police and some industrial and government organizations
around the world. Some of them are
INTERDICTION
Physical interdiction of UAV by specialised ammunition, High energy laser beams can
burn them down, Some counter-UAs set ups fire nets at the UAV to tangle up their propellers
and bring them down but they can be self-defeating since a falling UAV is a dangerous
projectile and can damage the battery and make the UAV to explode.
Using Jammers to disrupt the frequency link between the drone and its operator by
generating large volumes of radio frequency (RF) output. Once the RF link is severed, a UAV
will either descend to ground or initiate a return to home manoeuvre. Satellite hamming
disrupts the UAV satellite link used for navigation but it does not work in the case of
autonomous drones with pre fed coordinates or terrain contour mapping data.
Detecting and Hacking into the drones communications system can help to neutralise
it and disrupting the UAV various flight sensors, motion sensors, gyroscopes, obstacle
avoidance sensors and flight control functions so that it receives an error signal forcing it to
either crash or activate an internal safety manoeuvre to land safely or by spoofing a GPS signal
to force the UAV to change its pre-programmed mission plan but it also can trigger a serious
threat of activating the explosives it might be carrying.

HIGH POWER ELECTOMAGNETIC SYSTEM (HPEM)

High power electromagnetic system can be implemented such that it zaps UAV with a
powerful electromagnetic pulse, causing them to crash-land safely and it could also be a
successful counter measure against a swarm attack (a pack of UAV flying into their targets
from multiple directions). HPEM counter-IED (Vehicle mounted HPEM system) to protect
military convoys against radio, timer and sensor controlled improvised explosive devices.
HPEM car integrated system can help police to stop getaway cars and avoid many people from
escaping.

RF JAMMERS
An RF Jammer is a static, mobile, or handheld device which transmits a large amount
of RF energy towards the drone, masking the controller signal. This results in one of four
scenarios, depending on the drone
1. Drone makes a controlled landing in its current position.
2. Drone returns to user-set home location (which could be set to a target position
instead of home).
3. Drone falls uncontrolled to the ground.
4. Drone flies off in a random uncontrolled direction.

GPS SPOOFERS
This device sends a new signal to the drone, replacing the communication with GPS
satellites it uses for navigation. In this way, the drone is spoofed into thinking it’s somewhere
else. By dynamically altering the GPS coordinates in real-time, the UAV’s position can be
controlled by the spoofer. Once control is gained the drone can be directed to a safe zone.

NET GUNS
Firing a net at a drone, or otherwise bringing a net into contact with a drone stops the
drone by prohibiting the rotor blades. Physically captures drone – good for forensics and
prosecution, ground-launched net cannons are semi-automatic with high accuracy, drone
deployed nets have long range, low risk of collateral damage.
8. CHALLENGES:
As much as these technologies are successfully tested in controlled environments,
their success and applicability in real world scenarios is yet to be completely established. Anti-
UAV technologies are still very nascent and companies are trying to build the best systems
involving multiple technologies to deal with all possible contingencies. However, their
effectiveness is yet to be established and some of the challenges are

ECONOMIC FEASIBILITY
Given the cost of commercially available drones today, there is a need to research
economically feasible options for countering rogue drones. A US military ally used a missile
costing millions of dollars to bring down a US$200 commercial drone. This highlights the
needs of this industry of bringing and adopting cost effective ways to tackle rogue drones.

EFFECTIVE CONTIGENCY PLANS

Post the London Gatwick Airport closure in December 2018 due to rogue drone
incursions, the London Police revealed that its drone plan had been based around a single
drone incursion and not a multiple one. Further, officers needed to be effectively trained on
how jamming technology can be used in urban environments. One officer was quoted as
saying “I still don’t know what effect a jamming technology is going to have on a hospital that
is four kilometres away, so we have to be really careful” thus highlighting the opportunity for
better preparedness of the local police personnel of dealing with such contingencies despite
having the right equipment on ground.

THROUGH ON-FIELD TESTING

In the same event highlighted above at the London Gatwick Airport, the police also
revealed that the jamming technology intended to bring down a drone was “just not
tested”. The police officers further commented that, “All this stuff is built for theatre of war.
We are introducing something that is great in a desert into an urban environment and
saying we are not quite sure what it’s going to do.”, thus highlighting the need for constant
on-field testing for all officers so that they understand the technology, its usage and its
repercussions.

LEGAL CHALLENGES
In most countries jamming radio signals often requires permission and a host of
approvals and licenses before such equipment can be deployed. For example, in the UK, one
needs to have authority under the Wireless Telegraphy Act to start broadcasting any kind of
signal even one intended to bring down a fleet of unauthorized drones.

RAPID TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENT

Drones is a nascent industry that is still evolving technically. Researching and finding
new solutions to counter rogue drones requires significant investment and can sometimes
lead to results that may not be technically relevant by the time they are launched into the
market.
9.FUTURE RESEARCH:
Some suggestions of future research directions in areas in which a scientific gap exists
are included and these can be applied in order to detect attacks caused by malicious operators
who will not follow regulations and laws.

AUTHENTICATION OF UAV AND OPERATORS

Methods for authenticating drones based on a white-listing approach must be
introduced in order to solve the identification problem (i.e., detecting a specific drone among
similar drones). For example, one interesting method that can be used for this purpose as an
out-of-band solution is installing a microcontroller on a group of white-listed drones. In this
case, the microcontroller will serve as a transmitter for authenticating the drone by
modulating an RSA token using visual cues (e.g., using an LED strip), the visual cues will be
captured by a video camera connected to a computer that will analyse the frames in the video
stream and interpret the series of visual modulations to an RSA token . Based on the result, it
will decide to authenticate the drone or not. We also hypothesize whether drone operators
can be authenticated based on their flying skills captured via a third-party static radio receiver
by analysing a drone’s radio emissions.

DEALING WITH CYBER-ATTACKS ON UAV

While detecting a cyber-attack against UAV is difficult, trying to deal with the
repercussions of cyber-attacks is much harder. For example, even if a sensor-based attack has
been detected, securing the UAV or returning it home safely is a complex problem if the
drone’s system cannot rely on the measurements from the integrated sensors (e.g., GPS,
gyroscope). In order to deal with this problem, we hypothesize how accurate will be a
software-based mechanism that stores the history of the series of manoeuvring commands
from the time the drone has taken off until a sensor-based attack has been identified

DETERMINIG UAV INTENTIONS

Other mechanisms for detecting the purpose of a drone based on its flight behaviour
must also be introduced. For example, hypothesize whether the cellular hijacking can be
detected by analysing the radio activity of known cellular bands using a spectrum analyser
and intersecting the origin of the cellular transmitter with the location of a detected drone.

10.REFERENCES:
1. Gettinger, D., and Holland M. A., 2015. Drone Sightings and Close Encounters: An
Analysis, Center for the Study of the Drone at Bard College, New York.
2. Countering Rogue Drones, a report released by FICCI and Ernst & Young.
3. SoK - Security and Privacy in the Age of Drones: Threats, Challenges, Solution
Mechanisms, and Scientific Gaps by Ben Nassi, Asaf Shabtai, Ryusuke Masuoka, Yuval
Elovici: https://arxiv.org/abs/1903.05155.
4. Drone Detection System: https://drone-detection-system.com/.