Hanwha Systems (CEO Sung-chul Eo) has successfully completed a test of its 'Anti-drone' system, which detects, tracks, and captures illegal drones such as North Korean unmanned aerial vehicles, with a capture rate of over 90%.

From the 2nd to the 8th, Hanwha Systems tested an anti-drone system that captures and neutralizes small unmanned aerial vehicles at the Hwaseong Drone Test Site and the Jangseong Comprehensive Training Center of the Army Infantry School.

In this test, Hanwha Systems' thermal surveillance equipment (TAS-815K performance improvement model) and the drone defense system of Fortem Technologies, a U.S. company in which Hanwha Aerospace invested in February, successfully detected a fixed-wing drone with a radar cross section (RCS) of 0.03㎡ from 3km away and captured the drone flying at an altitude of 300-800m, verifying the normal operation of Hanwha's 'Integrated Drone Surveillance and Defense System.'

The threat drone used in the demonstration is 2m in wingspan, similar in size to the North Korean drone that invaded our airspace in December of last year. The drone defense system has confirmed its effectiveness by recording a capture rate of over 90% in dozens of tests at a maximum speed of 90 km/h in the field.

The 'anti-drone' system is divided into 'hard kill', which directly destroys or captures drones, and 'soft kill', which disables their functions through radio interference or paralysis. When shooting down a drone that has appeared in the sky over the city, civilian damage may occur due to debris or grenades, and drone jamming can affect the safety of civil aircraft using GPS and surrounding electronic devices, so caution is required.

To prepare for safety accidents in major facilities and densely populated areas, Hanwha Aerospace invested in Fortem Technologies, which has a net capture-type drone defense system (C-UAS·Counter-Unmanned Aircraft Systems) that is highly stable and can collect target drones in their original form. Hanwha Systems will operate this in an integrated manner by combining its own electro-optical (EO) and infrared (IR) drone-specific sensor technologies.

Hanwha Systems plans to link and apply cutting-edge AESA radar technology to increase target tracking accuracy and detection range in order to expand the scope of the ‘integrated drone surveillance and defense system.’

“Small UAVs with extremely low radar reflectivity and body heat generation are similar to detecting stealth aircraft flying at extremely low speeds and altitudes,” said Eosung Cheol, CEO of Hanwha Systems. “By combining Hanwha Systems’ world-class multi-function radar with the world’s best anti-drone technology, we will help strengthen the nation’s defense capabilities against UAV infiltration.”