{"id":52342,"date":"2019-04-30T01:11:46","date_gmt":"2019-04-30T05:11:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.yachtingmagazine.com\/?p=52342"},"modified":"2023-05-08T08:30:39","modified_gmt":"2023-05-08T12:30:39","slug":"anti-drone-tech-for-yachts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.yachtingmagazine.com\/anti-drone-tech-for-yachts\/","title":{"rendered":"Anti-Drone Tech for Yachts"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\"Anti-drone <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n Martek’s system spots and jams drones that are shooting video near a yachts.<\/span>\n Jeff Brown<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n

Aviation buffs (including me) have long held curiosity with Seattle\u2019s skies, given the Emerald City\u2019s proximity to Boeing\u2019s facilities and several high-level military bases. But it was an evening dog walk when I experienced my first mini-swarm. We\u2019d reached the neighborhood park when five ominous-looking red lights punched above the tree line and began executing high-speed maneuvers. Their school-of-fish movements were visually overwhelming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These drones<\/a> were benign, but the experience begs hard questions for superyacht owners, who have to deal with their fair share of the flying buzzards getting too close to the rigging or trying to sneak a peek at whoever’s sunbathing on the bow. Given the proliferation of low-cost, easy-to-fly drones and the eye-in-the-sky \u00adcamera streams that they provide \u2014 not to mention their more nefarious capabilities and increasing payloads \u2014 drones are a progressively worrisome security issue<\/a>. Some 22 million of them are expected to be flying worldwide by 2020, including in anchorages and over popular waterways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCountermeasures always prevail once the technology is on the \u00admarket,\u201d says Erik van Wilsum, Martek\u2019s head of counter-\u00adunmanned aircraft \u00adsystems. \u201cBut we\u2019re always behind in a countering situation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Understanding how to combat drones starts with learning how they work. People pilot drones via radio frequencies (RF), using joysticklike controllers. The controllers let the drone operator see whatever the drone can see, with video streams sent back from the drone\u2019s high-resolution camera. Drone manufacturers use different frequency bands to transmit the video streams (typically on the 5.8 gigahertz frequency band) while the controller sends its flight-control signals to the drone (typically on the 2.4 GHz band).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Electronically speaking, that makes most drones\u2019 vulnerabilities their 2.4 GHz and 5.8 GHz transmissions, which can be discovered, identified, tracked, and electronically exploited using RF detectors and antennas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Martek\u2019s Anti-Drone System (MADS) \u2014 the world\u2019s first marine-specific anti-drone system \u2014 is composed of two 70-by-75-centimeter (about 27.5-inch by 29.5-inch) radomes, a PC and a software interface. The detection dome passively discovers, identifies and tracks drones operating on 2.4 GHz and 5.8 GHz signals, while the defeat dome electronically neutralizes a drone\u2019s ability to send and receive its 2.4 GHz control signals or transmit its 5.8 GHz video stream.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both domes provide 360-by-180-degree coverage around and above a yacht, and MADS can detect, identify and track drones from distances greater than 3 miles. It can electronically defeat them at a range of roughly 3,280 feet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn the defeat dome, there are a lot of modules with antennas, and in the detection dome, there are omni- and directional-sensing modules with antennas,\u201d van Wilsum says. \u201cWe\u2019re aiming for the best base solution with a single [type of] sensor,\u201d and customers can add other \u00adsensors (see sidebar).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\"Martek <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n Martek\u2019s anti-drone system disrupts communications with drones, forcing them to land or return to their operators.<\/span>\n Courtesy Martek<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n

MADS (call for pricing) automatically detects, identifies and tracks all drones within its range, and it offers user-configurable and escalating alarms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe [constantly] scan two frequencies, and we detect protocols and frequency hopping,\u201d van \u00adWilsum says. Users can update the MADS software yearly, so the system will recognize the latest drone models. \u00adMartek pays licensing fees to maintain subscriptions to common drone-control software that most manufacturers use. \u201cWe can detect if they hop frequencies, and we can follow,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When a drone is detected, MADS either automatically enforces an electronic exclusion zone around the superyacht, or it can prompt the owner to activate the defeat dome manually by pressing a red button. The defeat dome transmits signals that disrupt RF communications between the drone and its controller.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t interfere with the yacht\u2019s other communications,\u201d van Wilsum says. \u201cWe evoke the drone to go home by creating a busy network. \u2026 It\u2019s legal and CE-approved.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unlike canister-fired nets or dogfighting drones, both of which are \u00addesigned to engage drones one-on-one, MADS is a \u00adnatural multitasker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt can stop a swarm,\u201d he says, adding that swarming drones also typically operate on 2.4 GHz and 5.8 GHz frequency bands. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter if it\u2019s one or multiple drones. What happens to one will \u00adhappen to them all.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One known chink in MADS\u2019 otherwise formidable anti-drone dome involves an operator commanding a drone to fly to a set of preprogrammed GPS waypoints and record video onto an internal SD card, eliminating in-flight RF communications. That problem, however, is rare, van Wilsum says, and it can be resolved by weighing anchor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNot many people use waypoints,\u201d he says. \u201cNinety-nine percent of all drones use these two frequencies.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Size is another consideration, as a MADS installation involves two 70-\u00adcentimeter (27.5-inch) skyline-mounted domes. Martek says the MADS system is ideal for superyachts, but there is a portable unit with an accompanying Drone Disruptor Gun for privacy-loving yachtsmen with less waterline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I wonder if it would work at the dog park back home in Seattle.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Martek has developed anti-drone technology for yacht owners.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":42917,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"BS_author_type":"BS_author_is_guest","BS_guest_author_name":"David Schmidt","BS_guest_author_url":"","hydra_display_date":"20190430","hydra_display_updated":false,"_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":"157","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"Martek's Marine Anti-Drone System is geared for yachstman who to ensure privacy and security from unwanted eyes.","_yoast_wpseo_title":"Anti-drone Yacht Tech %%sep%% %%sitename%%","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","arc_story_id":"EDB3YRITIZPCX2SR7GBJV5BACA","arc_website_url":"anti-drone-tech-for-yachts","custom_permalink":"anti-drone-tech-for-yachts\/","arc_subtype":"right-sidebar","arc_exclude_from_feeds":false,"sponsored":false,"sponsored_label":"Sponsored Content","sponsored_display_label":false,"sponsored_image":false,"post_right_rail":true,"post_right_rail_ad_1":true,"post_right_rail_ad_2":true,"post_right_rail_ad_3":false,"post_right_rail_ad_4":false,"post_right_rail_recirc":true,"fixed_anchor_ad":true,"post_top_ad":true,"post_off_ramp":true,"post_taboola":false,"labels":false,"apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":"\"\"","apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"footnotes":"","ad_targeting":"","ad_settings_ads_on_this_page":true,"ad_settings_automatic_ad_injection_into_the_content":true,"sponsored_url":"","social_share":true},"categories":[157],"tags":[1380,167,1379,762],"acf":[],"apple_news_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52342"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=52342"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52342\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/42917"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52342"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=52342"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=52342"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}