Adrienne Murray
AFP via Getty Images
Denmark has taken measures to curb drone flying
In the northern Danish city of Aalborg, the firm MyDefence makes equipment that jams and repels drones.
"We've had a big surge of interest," says chief executive, Dan Hermansen.
He says that up until early October his company was mainly dealing with defence firms, but now it has "completely shifted".
The small, box-like kit made by MyDefence is mostly used by the military of Nato countries and Ukraine.
However lately demand has grown from civilian customers.
"It's coming from critical infrastructure," he adds, "from big companies, looking to protect their own assets".
The device detects communication between the drone and its pilot, then breaks that connection, explains Mr Hermansen, by emitting a powerful radio signal on the same frequency.
Rather than falling out of the sky, the drone is pushed away and has a controlled landing. If it tries to reconnect to a GPS signal, that can be blocked too, he adds.
Mr Hermansen reckons that radio frequency jamming works against 80 to 90% of the drones that are flown.
The use of jamming equipment and other methods to intercept drones is regulated. Using such equipment is usually limited to police or defence agencies.
MyDefence
MyDefence uses powerful radio waves to jam drone control systems
To disable an unauthorised drone, it's essential to be able to detect it first.
"The first part is really about identification. And the second part is an interceptor system," explains Kasper Hallenborg, director of The Maersk Mc-Kinney Moller Institute at University of Southern Denmark.
Identifying a drone is not so easy, points out Andreas Graae, the head of research at the Institute of Military Technology at the Danish Defence Academy.
"[Drones] can be very small or really big, and are often produced from materials like plastic or fabrics that are very hard to detect on a traditional radar," he says.
A suite of technologies are under constant development, to help find drones.
That includes acoustic sensors that listen for the drone's buzzing; advanced optical cameras, with very high resolution; and increasingly sophisticated tactical radars, which work over longer ranges and can even differentiate between a drone or a bird.
Once detected, a drone needs to be disabled. Electronic jamming, similar to that used by MyDefence has leapt forward, thanks in large part to the war in Ukraine.
"[Ukraine's] frontlines are totally jammed," Mr Graae says, which means that drone controllers lose control of their machines.
So, Russia and Ukraine have adapted by using drones controlled by fibre optic cables, or using drones that can navigate autonomously, or fly along pre-programmed routes.
Such drones need to be intercepted or shot down and plenty of firms are working on novel ways to do that.
Among them is Swedish start-up, Nordic Air Defence. It is developing a low-cost interceptor designed to strike the targeted drone, forcing it to crash.
"It's missile shaped, so travels incredibly fast," he adds. "It's incredibly easy to manufacture. It is basically 3D printed," says Jens Holzapfel, the company's business director.
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