Skytech International debuts at International Security Expo in London with a portable counter-drone system for private use and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Skytech International, a British aerial security specialist, introduced its brand-new portable counter-drone (C-UAV) system, Sky-Defender, at the International Security Expo in London, hosted on 28-29 September in Olympia London. The system is designed to protect luxury homes, private yachts, hotels and resorts, and infrastructure sites such as business aviation airports, heliports and yacht marinas.

Aerial intrusion has become an extreme problem. It is far more than just a disturbance or breach of privacy. Civilian drones are used increasingly frequently for spying, data hacking and diversions. They cause massive financial loss to businesses. For example, a major airport loses up to £100,000 per minute during shutdowns caused by aerial intrusion, and data centre outage costs £9,000 per minute, as Gartner reports. Factory pre-installed geofencing can be easily removed by open-web software, so doesn’t provide any sustainable security.

As such, many organisations need to prevent it but they cannot afford counter-drone products manufactured by major defence companies and don’t have the required licenses and trained personnel. Skytech International, a London-based tech startup, has developed a civilian cloud-based software service to meet massive demand.

While there are currently manufacturers of drone jammers, which can remotely destroy electronics and land drones by force, using jammers is illegal almost all over the world. In most countries, only military agencies are allowed to use signal jammers. Businesses are therefore unable to take over and land rogue drones by using this method. Lasers, or even lower-tech measures such as using a sniper to bring down a drone raise other issues, especially over busy areas.

For now, the best method is to block designated spaces from drone intrusion, along with finding and identifying rogue drone operators. Powered with machine learning, Sky Defender consists of hardware, a cupola-shaped sensor, stationed to monitor the designated area, and software that runs in the cloud. The detection range is two miles, and blocking range reaches 1.5 miles. The software also identifies a rogue drone operator within milliseconds. The data can be immediately passed to law enforcement agencies and security teams who are licensed to shut down or land drones.

This cloud-managed airspace security tool meets massive demand, it cost less than $10K and can be used by any business or private person. Users can lease the sensor and subscribe to the cloud software, enabling sky protection and aerial privacy very easily.