• UASWeekly
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D-Fend Solutions’ EnforceAir C-UAS Software Release Expands Drone Coverage and Enhances Remote ID

D-Fend Solutions, the leader in counter-drone technology, has unveiled the latest version of its EnforceAir platform. EnforceAir Version 23.03 builds on the technology’s existing capabilities with enhanced core drone takeover features, improved Remote ID functionality, new reporting and analysis tools, and upgraded information sharing. Expanded Core Drone Coverage and Capabilities EnforceAir Version 23.03 features advanced […]

• DroneLife
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EnforceAir Counter Drone Software Upgrade: New Remote ID, Detection, Identification, and Mitigation Capabilities

D-Fend Solutions Introduces Upgrade to EnforceAir C-UAS Software

by DRONELIFE Staff Writer Ian M. Crosby

Today, Counter-UAS technology leader D-Fend Solutions announced the release of Version 23.03 of its EnforceAirsoftware.

Continue reading below, or listen:

The upgrade introduces a host of new features, such as enhanced core drone takeover capabilities and coverage, enhanced Remote ID functionality, new Reporting and Analysis features, and upgraded information sharing for the SAPIENT C-UAS standard.

Version 23.03 includes an update to EnforceAir’s cyber detection and mitigation methods, with new detection, identification and mitigation capabilities for over 20 new drones from leading manufacturers, as well as enhanced coverage of popular drones with high threat grades.  EnforceAir’s Remote ID functionality has also been improved, with long range support for the detection, identification and tracking of drones and add-on modules compliant with US, EU and Japanese standards.

These capabilities are further strengthened with enhanced situational awareness, including seamless merger and data enrichment of Remote ID broadcasted data.

The Remote ID data layer will now be embedded in all EnforceAir products and configurations, including tactical deployment configuration and networked MSC2 system, featuring real time display, API and analysis and replay abilities.

EnforceAir’s data analysis capabilities are also being enhanced, with new reporting abilities that take advantage of the replay feature, as well as a new drone activity overview report, the first in a series of new reports and analyses.

Additionally, the program will now support information sharing with external C2 systems using SAPIENT, the Sensing for Asset Protection with Integrated Electronic Network Technology standard from the UK MoD.

EnforceAir’s API has also been updated to share more drone information elements to other systems while being leveraged as part of an integrated defense solution. The system APIs will undergo periodic updates going forward, guaranteeing effective and holistic data sharing with connected, multi-layered C2 systems.

Read more:

Ian attended Dominican University of California, where he received a BA in English in 2019. With a lifelong passion for writing and storytelling and a keen interest in technology, he is now contributing to DroneLife as a staff writer.

• InsideUnmannedSystems
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D-Fend Solutions, Securiton Announce Drone Detection and Defense Partnership

RA’ANANA, Israel and ACHERN, Germany—D-Fend Solutions, which provides radio frequency, cyber-based, counter-drone takeover technology and Securiton Germany, a system provider, integrator and specialist in security systems, have signed a partnership agreement designating D-Fend as the supplier of Securiton’s C-UAS solutions.

Through this partnership, D-Fend Solutions will provide the EnforceAir system, its market-leading flagship technology, for which it carries out research, development and innovation. With this cooperation, Securiton will perform direct sales, marketing, scoping, planning, technology implementation, and support for these counter-drone security systems throughout Germany.

“We are very pleased to join forces with Securiton in Germany,” said Amit Haimovich, vice president of Sales at D-Fend. “They are an extremely solid and trustworthy partner with a wealth of experience who knows the specific needs of the defense and security industries. Securiton uses our technology in innovative ways, and it’s clear that together we can achieve great things that German customers can look forward to.”

“We are combining our strengths and integrating next generation sensors for drone detection and defense,” said Jochen Geiser, product manager of drone security at Securiton. “Our award-winning C2 software solution creates a fully comprehensive system for 3D object and perimeter security, known as ‘Dome Security.’ It offers complete coverage from ground to air, which is something no other product on the market is able to do currently.”

EnforceAir will combine with Securiton’s SecuriDrone Fortress perimeter management system to create an RF-based protection method, which will reliably detect drones and defend against them, from either stationary or mobile positions. This multi-layered solution will employ multiple EnforceAir capabilities. These include drone detection and tracking, controlled takeover, early detection of potential drone threats without false alarms, and rapid identification of the exact threat. Other features include seamless transition from threat detection, classification, tracking, identification and verification to the deployment of the appropriate defensive measures such as a controlled takeover of the drone.

With EnforceAir, the likelihood of collateral damage is reduced to a minimum and the system will not affect other communication systems in the area, the companies said. Authorized drones are also identified, even when countermeasures are initiated to eliminate rogue or hostile drones.

• InsideUnmannedSystems
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Countering Clueless, Careless, Criminal and Combatant Drone Users

As drone threats proliferate, private and government efforts (start to) respond.

The FAA estimates that by 2024 about 2.3 million drones—1.5 million recreational drones and model aircraft and more than 800,000 commercial drones—will be registered to fly in U.S. National Airspace System (NAS). As drone numbers increase, so do reports of negative encounters with them. In the past two years, the Department of Homeland Security has logged more than 2,000 drone sightings in and around U.S. airports and more than 8,000 illegal cross-border drone flights at the southern border.

“The drone threat continues to evolve at a rapid pace as drones and the sensors and technologies associated with them become more affordable,” noted Casey Flanagan, a former FBI technician specializing in counter-drone. Flanagan, who also is the current president of Richmond, Virginia-based AeroVigilance, a counter-drone consulting, training and services provider, offered a prediction: “The nefarious use of drones will ultimately only be limited by the imagination and technical abilities of those who use them.”

This threat continues even as the law that gave a limited group of federal officials the authority to detect and mitigate will soon expire. Consequently, it’s worth surveying the state of peril, the tech to defeat it and the actions necessary to create safe skies.

THE HOVERING THREAT

During a hearing focused on the evolving threat that drones pose to the U.S. in the Senate’s Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, Brad Wiegmann, the Justice Department’s deputy assistant attorney general, national security division, warned that it’s “only a matter of time” before a drone attacks a mass gathering in the country.

Why? Because the same characteristics of small commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) drones that benefit society also make them dangerous in the wrong hands. Low cost, widespread availability, mobility, speed, range, maneuverability and compactness allow them to fly over barriers, scout out critical information and remotely deliver lethal and non-lethal payloads with great precision.

For these reasons, COTS drone used as lookouts and attack vectors overseas has escalated. Across Afghanistan, Yemen, Iraq, Syria and Turkey, drones have been used to explode over people and target commercial aircraft at civilian airports. And Ukrainian forces have used COTS drones for everything from forward observation and adjusting fire to delivering grenades.

The nefarious use of drones is not limited to locations far away. Since 2019, in the U.S. drones have collided with an Army helicopter, and enabled attempts to drop explosives near a Georgia mobile home park and deliver contraband into the Fort Dix Prison.

And then there are the clueless and careless flyers. The FAA has received more than 100 reports a month of problematic UAS activity monthly over the past two years. The agency has characterized this as “a dramatic increase.”

Acting DHS Assistant Secretary for Counterterrorism Samantha Vinograd testified this summer that during the agency’s 70 counter-drone protection operations at large events, FBI teams detected 970 noncompliant drones in restricted airspace. Additionally, the TSA reported 65 cases where commercial airline pilots had to take lifesaving evasive actions to avoid colliding with drones.

D-Fend Solutions, an Israel and McLean, Virginia-based counter-drone company, tracks these types of global drone incidents. Jeffrey Starr, the company’s chief marketing officer said, “We‘ve seen a sharp increase in drone incidents across an incredibly diverse set of occurrences, geographies, sectors and incident types. These include attacks, collisions, espionage, harassment, privacy violations and smuggling.

“The first wave of early incidents mostly involved the military, national and homeland security, law enforcement, airports, and border sectors,” Starr continued. “But we now also see a new wave of incidents and heightened concern from ports and harbors, VIP and executive protection, maritime operations and critical infrastructure including stadiums and arenas, prisons, and government buildings and landmarks. The drone risk is spreading.”

All these incidents underscore the urgent need for effective counter-UAS, or C-UAS, technologies and the related authority to detect and mitigate drones in the homeland.

KEEPING PACE WITH THE TECH

The evolution of drone technology to include the methods in which drones can navigate through the airspace presents challenges for counter-drone operations.

AeroVigilance’s Flanagan explained: “The variety of drones and their technical capabilities will require a defense-in-depth posture that includes various methods to detect and mitigate any drones that may be considered to be a credible threat to the safety of the public or our critical infrastructure.” 

Those enhanced drone tech capabilities include features such as GPS-enabled autonomous waypoint missions and optical flow, as well as frequency hopping. These advancements allow solutions to detect the physical signatures of the drone and not rely solely on radio frequency (RF) detection.

The operational environment itself also presents challenges for counter-drone tech employment. Many events that require protection have an associated high RF interference environment, including antennas, communications systems and media transmissions. This can limit options. Jammer-based solutions, for example, could potentially disrupt critical comms systems operating in the area.

Add to these hurdles the nuances of specific mission sets. For VIP protection, counter-drone systems must be transportable enough to provide a moving bubble of protection, be quickly set up and configured, and dismantled and reassembled.

And so counter-drone companies have stepped up their enhancements. Various sensors detect, locate/track and classify/identify drones, ranging from radio detection and ranging (RADAR), passive RF, electro-optical and infrared (EO/IR), and acoustic. They employ electronic and kinetic, or physical, mitigation actions such as jamming, spoofing, net guns/specialized projectile devices, kinetic mitigation, laser weapons and high-power microwaves. Some even use drones to counter other drones.

D-Fend Solutions‘ flagship product, EnforceAir, for example, is an end-to-end counter-drone solution that automatically executes cyberdrone detection and takeover mitigation of rogue drones for safe landings and outcomes.

In 2021, the Ministry of the Interior of Slovakia used the EnforceAir Ground-Level Tactical Kit during an open-air Holy Mass in Šaštín, Slovakia, to provide 360-degree coverage. EnforceAir ultimately fended off a rogue drone, sending it back to its original takeoff position, far away from Pope Francis, 90 bishops, 500 priests and an estimated 60,000 worshippers.

“Thankfully, with the help of our counter-drone technology, this incident ended safely,” said a D-Fend Solutions source. But, he continued, “this incident does, however, reflect the growing danger posed by drones to national security around the world, to critical infrastructure, civilians, world leaders and large events.” (for additional coverage, see https://insideunmannedsystems.com/d-fend-reprograms-rogue-drones/)

James Poss, Maj. Gen. U.S. Air Force (Ret.) and IUS columnist, agreed that the drone threat continues to grow. He pointed to the effective use of commercial drones in Ukraine as an indicator of things to come: “If small commercial drones can have such an impact on the battlefield, imagine the impact terrorists could have using them in our homeland.”

Poss continued: “In the U.S., we spend a lot of time preparing for the next air attack to come across the hemisphere. The next attack may come across the parking lot.” This “frightening prospect” reinforces the need for counter-drone technology and enhanced counter-drone authorities in the U.S.

Northrop Grumman’s Kent Savre, Maj. Gen. U.S. Army (Ret.), director for the company’s precision weapons operating unit, echoed Poss’ observations. “The same types of commercial drones we see helping Ukraine can provide an asymmetric advantage to those who would do us harm right here in the homeland,” he said.

To meet the threat, Savre’s team designed a scalable and modular artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML)-enabled Mobile Acquisition Cueing and Effector, or M-ACE, system to detect, identify, track and mitigate potentially dangerous drones. However, the company, and others like it, has been stymied from fielding any systems domestically, despite interest from law enforcement agencies, due to legal limitations on counter-drone technologies.

LAW DEFLECTS DETECTION

Currently in the U.S., only a handful of federal agencies have the authority to even detect rogue drones, let alone mitigate them.

A cluster of federal criminal laws within Title 18, written mostly to protect aircraft and wireless transmissions, preclude state and federal law enforcement agencies from taking counter-drone actions without specific legislative authority. (See the August 2020 interagency “Advisory on the Application of Federal Laws to the Acquisition and Use of Technology to Detect and Mitigate Unmanned Aircraft Systems” at https://www.cisa.gov/publication/advisory-application-federal-laws-acquisition-and-use-technology-detect-and-mitigate).

It was not until 2017 that the Department of Defense became the first federal agency to receive Congressional authority to detect and mitigate drones (10 U.S.C. §130i). That same year, Congress extended similar authority to the Department of Energy by amending the Atomic Energy Defense Act (50 U.S.C. §4510).

A year later, Congress included the “Preventing Emerging Threats Act of 2018” in the “FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018” (FAARA 2018). This Act expanded federal counter-drone authority to the DOJ, FBI, DHS and Coast Guard, allowing them to mitigate credible drone threats to certain facilities, such as federal prisons, courthouses and other protected assets. It was set to expire in October.

Federal leaders have implored Congress to both renew and expand its C-UAS authority. As DHS’ Vinograd testified, “there are significant gaps in our ability to protect the homeland from drones.” She explained that during these past 4 years, “the demand for counter-drone support has far outstripped the federal government’s limited resources.” Her agents, she said, could only cover 0.05% of the more than 121,000 events requiring counter-drone protection.

The feds have asked Congress to expand counter-drone authorities to the TSA, local law enforcement and certain critical infrastructure stakeholders.

“DHS relies on partners all around the country to help protect the homeland. We can’t be everywhere,” Vinograd said. “What we know is that the threat posed by UAS is widespread across the country, and it is critical that our partners have the authority to help protect the homeland.”

FEDERAL RESPONSES

The White House has taken a keen interest in counter-drone. In April, it released the nation’s first Domestic Counter Unmanned Aircraft Systems National Action Plan. It remains unpublished (see “Inside The White House Counter-Drone Plan”). Then in August, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, in coordination with the National Security Council, hosted the first White House Summit on Advanced Air Mobility. While the event read-out focused on electric vertical takeoff and landing developments, the actual agenda devoted half a day to counter-drone topics.

In the interim between the White House’s plan and summit, Congress got going.

In July, Michigan Sen. Gary Peters, in cooperation with Sens. Johnson, Sinema and Hassan, introduced the bi-partisan “Safeguarding the Homeland from the Threats Posed by Unmanned Aircraft Systems Act” of 2022. The bipartisan group intends to continue to enhance the counter-drone authority originally granted to DHS and DOJ while additionally authorizing:

• State, local, tribal and territorial (SLTT) law enforcement and owners and operators of critical infrastructure (including airports) to use certain detection-only capabilities.

• A limited pilot program for up to 12 state and local law enforcement entities each year to engage in both detection and mitigation activities. This would include training, vetting and the requirement to follow the same operational and privacy rules as federal agencies.

• The marshal service to protect high-risk prisoner transports.

The bill was sent to the Senate as a whole for consideration on Aug. 3. Only one in four bills get reported in this manner out of committee. While that’s a good sign, its fate still remains to be seen.

WHAT NOW?

As the White House plans and chats and Congress ruminates on what authorities to continue or expand for counter-drone, some say the FAA will soon be creating a Counter UAS Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC). These time-limited, purpose-driven ad hoc groups provide information, advice and recommendations to the FAA. The FAA concluded its Beyond Visual Line of Sight ARC work earlier this year and issued a 400-page report. That said, so far the FAA ARC website does not reveal any further details on such a C-UAS ARC.

Leaning forward, the non-profit DRONERESPONDERS has announced its plans to launch its own “Counter UAS Working Group.” Its stated goal is to share information on new developments and support what it perceives as the continued momentum of C-UAS efforts. 

Is there really momentum or are we at a critical drop-off point for counter-drone authorities? The counter-drone bill is a great step in the right direction. We need it now, though, before there’s a gaping legal hole for critical protection against rogue drones.

• InsideUnmannedSystems
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D-Fend Reprograms Rogue Drones

Drones, you might say, are value-neutral. While often beneficial to industry, government and hobbyist use alike, they can be used to disrupt events, endanger airspace, even threaten assassinations.

Enter D-Fend Solutions, a Ra’anana, Israel/McLean, Virginia-based company that alleviates threats from potentially dangerous drones with Enforce-Air, a flagship counter-drone technology that takes control of rogue UAVs and lands them in a predefined area.

The system proved its mettle last year when it removed a rogue drone interrupting a mass held by Pope Francis with 60,000 worshippers in Slovakia. D-Fend worked with the Slovakian Interior Ministry to protect the pope, his retinue and attendees. More recently, D-Fend protected members of the G7 Summit in Cornwall, United Kingdom.

Promoting Positives Amid Rising Threats
You might expect D-Fend’s leaders to be down on drones, but “we’re actually driven by a kind of drone-positive worldview,” Jeffrey Starr, D-Fend Solution’s chief marketing officer, said. “We realize drones bring a lot of great value and they’re reshaping society. And that should be protected.

“As drones proliferate, however, there is a very small portion of bad or careless actors or inexperienced operators who could create tremendous damage. So, by mitigating that threat in a very surgical and selective way that focuses on safety, control and continuity, we allow the positive drone society to flourish. That’s kind of our philosophy.”

In the company’s view, such threats are only increasing, especially as the marketplace for drones grows. “What we’re focused on and what is emerging more and more, is the threat from commercial off-the-shelf purchased drones that can be misused, adapted or carelessly deployed,” Starr noted.

Biden Administration Takes Action
This threat was recognized last April by the Biden administration in the Domestic Counter-Unmanned Aircraft Systems National Action Plan, which is seeking to expand lawful protection against such intrusions. It suggested working with Congress to expand the set of tools and actors that can be brought to bear, among other recommendations.

According to D-Fend, traditional counter-UAS solutions are not the answer since they can interfere with communications and authorized drones, or miss the threat. He detailed shortcomings of other technologies in both detection and mitigation.

“On the detection side, you have radars, but they can generate false positives,” Starr said. Similarly, line-of-sight solutions may not work where there are buildings or mountains; and acoustic remedies may be hampered by noisy environments or with increasingly softer drones. On the mitigation side, jamming is temporary and might interrupt other crucial communications. Anything physical, such as projectiles or lasers, could cause damage in a crowd.

Six-Step Detection and Mitigation
D-Fend’s proprietary solution, Starr said, brings together technologies from military intelligence, electronic warfare and other sources in its flagship product, EnforceAir SDR (software defined radio).

The process loads IFF (identification friend or foe) identifiers of approved drones for the event or area into the system, then performs six steps through the incident lifecycle:

• Receiving an alert when a drone is detected
• Extracting the intruder’s GPS position for real-time location tracking
• Examining the drone’s unique communication identifier to see if it is authorized or unauthorized
• Identifying the drone’s pilot position and take-off location while the drone is flying
• Disconnecting the drone operator’s remote control
• Using Active RF (radio frequency) briefly to take over the drone and land it in a safe area.

EnforceAir supports long-range drones, both commercial and proprietary radio frequencies (such as those of do-it-yourselfers), and manual and pre-configured auto-pilot flight modes.

Six Primary Configurations
D-Fend offers six primary deployment versions that work with the EnforceAir SDR core component and can be configured for situations ranging from border protection to critical infrastructure, stadiums to arenas, VIP protection to maritime incidents:

• Military—Includes a ground-level military antenna with 360-degree azimuth coverage and zero-to-40-degree elevation, an antenna cradle and weather-proofing. Can be deployed on a tripod.
• Vehicle—Offers a protection bubble for VIPs, law enforcement and others who need to move without limitations or public identification. Quickly transferable from vehicle to vehicle with the antenna kit, cable set, power unit and cradle. Can be tripod-mounted.
• High altitude tactical—For tall buildings, mountainous and sensitive environments. The kit features an ultra-stable tripod and a tactical, high performance, wide-angle folding antenna designed for +/- 40-degree reach.
• Ground level tactical—Easily deployed in a dynamic environment, with 360-degree azimuth coverage.
• Long-range directional—To cover expanses such as airports and borders, it secures the directional sensor to a pole installation bracket. Features an ultra-wide band antenna and 30-to-60-degree azimuth (RF band dependent) extended long-distance coverage.
• High altitude stationary—Enhanced vertical aperture protects large buildings and stadiums. Offers 360-degree azimuth horizontal coverage and +/- 40-degree vertical coverage.

For D-Fend, it’s about keeping the good guys in the skies.

• Uncategorized
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D-Fend Updates EnforceAir: Staying Out in Front of the Drone Threat

Counter drone solutions continue to evolve: D-Fend updates EnforceAir to add new features, and new services.

by DRONELIFE Staff Writer Ian M. Crosby

Today, D-Fend Solutions, the award-winning leader in radio frequency (RF), cyber-based, counter-drone takeover technology, revealed a new version of its flagship software product, EnforceAir, as part of the company’s quarterly software enhancement program.

The new version of EnforceAir includes a suite of new features that provide users with additional protection plan options, detailed map information to improve the efficacy of communication with law enforcement, and enhanced safety features. The new version also implements improvements to D-Fend’s Multi-Sensor Command & Control (MSC2) system.

Protection and alert areas within the stationary protection plans can now be circular, as well as the original polygon shape, depending on user needs and the scenario. Circular protection areas are located by default around EnforceAir’s location, and can be adjusted to allow for greater flexibility and to protect more distant areas. This update applies to both single and multi-zone alert and protection areas.

Street names and points of interest have been added to online maps in order to make it easier for users to get oriented and to quickly share information with law enforcement regarding precise drone pilot location. This information is displayed by default but can be manually toggled off.

Creating and editing safe routes for rogue drones now requires a minimum altitude of above 30 meters for safe routes and when landing at the nearest waypoint, and the distance between waypoints to be no less than 20 meters. Additionally, the maximum number of waypoints in a safe route is limited to eight.

“Our customers were instrumental in guiding much of the innovation in this latest version and numerous D-Fend Solutions clients have already installed it,” said D-Fend President and CPO Yaniv Benbenisti. “This new version further differentiates EnforceAir’s anti-drone offerings by facilitating even greater control and safety, to maintain day-to-day continuity in sensitive environments. We remain committed to upgrading our software on a regular basis to stay in front of the continuously evolving drone threat.”

D-Fend Solutions’ Multi-Sensor Command & Control system (MSC2), a central management solution, controls multiple EnforceAir sensors remotely from a single server, empowering organizations to intuitively safeguard vast expanses of land from rogue drones.

As D-Fend updates EnforceAir, the current version supports the new tactical MSC2 configuration, which enables users to easily deploy and operate multiple EnforceAir units through the MSC2 application in the field, or other ad-hoc deployments. The configuration is based on a Dell Latitude 5420 laptop, which functions as the MSC2 server and operating station. It provides the same operation, detection and mitigation capabilities as the MSC2 stationary configuration, while allowing operational agility and flexibility.

Additional features include the ability to set a custom duration for the system’s audio alert notification, the setting of landing-point location for rogue drones can be via coordinates, an “Apply All” option when editing safe routes details, editing of the alert area for moving asset plans via keyboard or slider, and the display of the approximated detection zone for the Long-Range Directional antenna.These additions further improve the already easy-to-use technology and increase the system’s protection capabilities.

Read more about counter drone policy and practice, cUAS strategy in the U.K., and counter drone market solutions.

Ian attended Dominican University of California, where he received a BA in English in 2019. With a lifelong passion for writing and storytelling and a keen interest in technology, he is now contributing to DroneLife as a staff writer