DroneGun concept lands unauthorised drones by jamming signals
Droneshield has developed a six-kilogram DroneGun, which uses signal jamming technology to disable drones at a range of 2km (1.2 miles) and land them safely. The gun is yet to be authorised by the Federal Communications Commission for use in the US. Other drone defences include Michigan Tech University's drone that captures other drones with a net, OpenWorks Engineering's SkyWall 100 also uses a net fired using compressed air and a UK-created "ray gun."

The idea behind the gun is to help protect people from drones carrying explosives or weapons, landing them safely instead of allowing them to be flown into targets. "It allows for a controlled management of drone payload, such as explosives, with no damage to common drone models or the surrounding environment," the maker says on its website, "due to the drones generally responding via a vertical controlled landing on the spot, or returning back to the starting point (assisting to track the operator)."

DroneShield's gun, according to its product brochure, is said to use signal jamming across the 2.4 and 5.8 GHz frequencies. It also has technology capable of blocking GPS and the Russian equivalent,GLONASS.

DroneShield

Unfortunately for those in the US, the drone isn't legal to use in the country. It has yet to be authorised by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and cannot be sold in the country until this is approved.

However, it isn't the only drone 'solution' under development. Michigan Tech University researchers recently equipped a drone with a net that can trap another drone which could be carrying explosives or other offensive paraphernalia. The thinking behind the net is that it could carry the aggressive drone to another location – away from a dangerous situation.

Elsewhere, the net and gun approach have been combined. OpenWorks Engineering's SkyWall100 uses compressed air to fire a net into the rotors of an offending UAV. And a UK-created 'ray gun' is going to be tested at US airports to stop drones that fly too closely to planes.