Coast Guard Begins Evaluations of Autonomous Surface Vehicles
The Coast Guard this month began testing of unmanned surface vehicles off the south shore of Oahu to examine the capabilities of the vessels to provide persistent maritime surveillance, particularly in remote areas of the oceans. The testing includes three vessels, one from Saildrone that is outfitted with an electro-optical/infrared camera, one from
Spatial Integrated Systems that also includes an EO/IR camera and radar, and one owned by the Coast Guard that was manufactured by Metal Shark. The service says that the autonomous vessel technologies may be applicable to many Coast Guard missions, it sees the potential to help it better protect critical natural living marine resources from illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing and other illicit activities. The testing, which is taking place from Oct. 7 through Nov. 5, is the first round for these specific vessels. Testing had been planned for earlier this year but was delayed due to COVID-19.
Koniku Introduces Threat Detection Device
Koniku has launched a new chemical and biological hazard threat detection device, the Konikore, which the company says can detect threats in 10 seconds. The California-based company says that in recent field tests for explosive vapor detection, the Konikore device detected a widely used primary high explosive and, in most cases, outperformed existing systems used in security threat detection. The company says its device showed no false positive or false negative results in detecting explosive ordnances. Koniku is partnered with Airbus on the work. The companies partnered with the Mobile, Ala., Police Department, the canine squad from the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency and FBI bomb technicians to evaluate the devices. Based on the positive test results, Airbus is preparing additional tests with its airport partners, including Singapore Changi Airport and San Francisco International to validate the technology into existing airport security processes for unregulated areas.
XTEND Demonstrates Counter Drone System at European Evaluation
XTEND says its SKYLORD Hunter counter-drone system was evaluated at an event hosted by the Spanish Ministries of Interior and Defense in Asturias Airport, Spain, to demonstrate the compatibility of the technology with existing airport technologies. XTEND’s system was one of 16 counter unmanned aircraft systems evaluated. For the demonstration, the companies had to demonstrate why their technologies are compatible with current airport communication systems and navigation and also show the effectiveness of their capacities to fight against hostile drones and guarantee their designated area’s security. XTEND, which is based in Israel, says it successfully intercepted a target drone on the move before allowing it to enter into the aerial area of the airport. The SKYLORD Hunter features air-to-air interception capabilities and instant GPS acquisition to target threatening UAS. U.S. Special Forces have been evaluating the SKYLORD system, which slams into another drone in mid-air to mitigate a potential threat.
CERBAIR Introduces Manportable CHIMERA CUAS System
France-based CERBAIR has introduced CHIMERA, a man-portable counter-unmanned aircraft system (CUAS) that can detect, manually locate and defeat small drones. CHIMERA includes an antenna located in a backpack, a digital command and control tablet attached to the front of a tactical vest, and a neutralization capability using an electromagnetic impulse.