Re:The Era of the Drone Swarm Is Coming
by KineticLensman on Thursday October 25, 2018 @11:16PM
(#18306490)
Not mentioned in the article in the context of hardening is the use of electromagnetic pulse weapons as the basis for anti-drone swarm countermeasures. You don't need to jam their comms or disrupt their nav or hit them with shotgun pellets if you can glitch the unhardened control circuitry of their little motors.
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Directional, reusable electromagnetic pulse weapons are still science fiction. Producing any significant EMP today requires a large explosion.
Re:The Era of the Drone Swarm Is Coming
by KineticLensman on Friday October 26, 2018 @03:37AM
(#18307446)
> Directional, reusable electromagnetic pulse weapons are still science fiction
As were drone swarms a few years ago. Don't underestimate the speed with which defence contractors will deploy solutions, especially if they sense that there is profit to be made. For example, OBSIDIAN, which is claimed to use proven radar technology to detect and track drones [0].
> Producing any significant EMP today requires a large explosion.
Which might not be a problem if you are defending critical national infrastructure or a high value military asset in a shooting war.
Re:The Era of the Drone Swarm Is Coming
by stephengillie on Thursday October 25, 2018 @11:46PM
(#18306637)
An EMP wirelessly overvolts circuits, burning them like a blown fuse. What kind of magnetic field would it take to induce too much current inside an Arduino?
It depends on the range. Due to the inverse square law, it would take a tremendously powerful magnetic field to induce enough current to damage even unshielded electronics at more than a few meters away.