To address this, Leonardo has developed and delivered operationally-proven, innovative, scalable, layered Counter-UAS (CUAS) capability in the form of our Falcon Shield product. It is designed to detect, track, identify and provide mitigation options, providing operators with the facilities to neutralise drones of all types and sizes. Falcon Shield employs Leonardo’s best of breed approach, delivering extensive performance in sensing and warning capabilities, exploiting the company’s electro optical sensor package and advanced radio frequency effector technology.
Within military theatres, UAS constitute a new and serious threat, due to their easy proliferation and slow and low kinematic profile, especially in congested airspace.
Leonardo works closely with its defence customers to ensure its cost-effective countermeasures, which has been operational for nearly a decade, continue to deliver class-leading range and accuracy in identifying and removing UAS from harm’s way.
Falcon Shield employs our Nerio ULR product – a state-of-the-art modular Electro-Optical (EO) Surveillance, Threat Acquisition (STA) and Reconnaissance system, which is based on the company’s world-class Horizon thermal imaging camera technology.
Since UAS are viewed as low-cost facilitators of espionage and terrorism, they have caused major disruption to airports, border security forces and critical national infrastructure (CNI).
For organisations like the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) – which has responsibility for safeguarding planes arriving at and departing from UK airports – staying ahead of the threat posed by drones is critical, since the financial impact of closing an airport is huge.
Looking to the near future, with the likes of Amazon and the National Health Services planning to use commercial drones for delivery of parcels and telemedicine respectively, adversaries will be looking to exploit any opportunities they identify.
