Russia’s new drone-grounding device
The Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Russian Federation, the EMERCOM of Russia, has unveiled a new portable device that intercepts and ‘forcibly grounds’ unauthorised unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), or drones, which often disrupt rescue operations in disaster areas.
The EMERCOM of Russia demonstrated the portable UAS suppression system at the Noginsk rescue centre training ground on 8 June. "In order to prevent unauthorised flights of unmanned aircraft in the emergency area where manned aircraft are operating, specialists of the EMERCOM of Russia planned the exercise to demonstrate the capabilities of the portable UAS suppression system, which allows for the forced landing of an unmanned aircraft," a demonstration spokesperson said.
The new device allows Russian specialists to force-land any unmanned aircraft, an especially useful trick during response rescue missions, as civilian drones often hinder rescue operations, disrupting the work of medevac helicopters, relief aircraft and water-bombers.