Chinese police armed with anti-drone ‘guns’ to scramble signals and force landings
Devices used in Wuhan to bring down illegal drones, which can pose a danger to aircraft
Police in a city in central China have stepped up their efforts to crack down on illegal drones, equipping policemen with devices that can disable their signals and force them to land.
Officers in Wuhan in Hubei province showcased their new anti-drone “guns” for the first time on Saturday outside a stadium where a soccer match was underway, the Changjiang Daily reported.
Police managed to disable six drones during the demonstration, according to the article.
Officers said it was increasingly important to protect airspace from unregulated unmanned aerial vehicles.
The anti-drone devices will help ensure safety and security during a marathon in the city next month, police were quoted as saying.
Each of the devices cost about 250,000 yuan (US$36,000) and has a range of about 1km, the report said.
One senior police officer told the newspaper, “The electrical and magnetic interference only forces the drones to land without causing any damage to it.”
Various types of equipment are used around the world to disable or control illegal drones.
Tokyo police established Japan’s first drone squad in response to a security breach in 2015, the Chinese state-run tabloid the Global Times reported.
A British firm has created an air-powered, bazooka-like device called the SkyWall 100 to launch a net to capture drones over 100 metres away.
The US military have been using a type of anti-drone rifle on battlefronts in Iraq, according to The Washington Post.
Security forces in France and Holland have trained eagles to intercept hostile devices, according to international media reports.
