Brazil’s IACIT has developed an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) jammer for military use called DroneBlocker that can block small to medium-sized aircraft in multiple ways, according to a company official.
Henrique Nobre, IACIT general manager for sales and marketing, told Jane’s on 4 April that DroneBlocker is applicable for militaries looking to secure land such as bases and airports. He said the Brazilian Army currently uses the jammer for various confidential applications, which he believes includes the protection of VIPs and important events. IACIT said the Brazilian Armed Forces used DroneBlocker during the 2016 Olympics held in Rio de Janiero.
The military version of IACIT's DroneBlocker small to medium-sized UAV jammer on display at the 2019 LAAD Defence and Security exposition in Rio de Janiero. (IHS Markit/Pat Host)
Nobre said DroneBlocker can jam a UAV’s Global Positioning System (GPS), which will force the aircraft to land softly. It can also force the UAV to return to its point of origin. DroneBlocker can block imaging streams from returning to the operator.
DroneBlocker works with multiple sensors. IACIT developed an image-processing algorithm capable of detecting targets such as UAVs through the videos of surveillance cameras installed along a perimeter. The camera subsystem detects the target and sends a message or trigger to the jammer subsystem to activate it.
A radio-frequency (RF) sensor detects targets by receiving the RF signals with a database and searching for a signature protocol equal to the signal generated by the aircraft and/or its operator. The RF receiver sensor operates with a 360° aperture angle. Nobre said IACIT prefers to define DroneBlocker’s range as a power ratio of 4:1, meaning the UAV operator must be 4 times closer than the jammer to continue to exchange data with the aircraft.
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