Thursday, April 7, 2022 // (IG): BB //Weekly Sponsor: DiyGarage SoCal
Germany to Get Weaponized Drones for the First Time
FROM THE MEDIA: Germany will get weaponized drones for the first time after years of debate, parliamentary sources told AFP Wednesday, as the EU giant, shaken by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, moves to ramp up its defense capabilities. Germany’s armed forces have until now only been allowed to deploy unarmed drones for reconnaissance purposes, leaving other allies to use weaponized unmanned combat aerial vehicles in the field. Non-weaponized drones were approved by parliament in 2018, but a plan to equip them with arms was put on ice after strong opposition from the Social Democrats, then junior partners in former chancellor Angela Merkel‘s coalition. But the devices have come back on the military’s shopping list as Chancellor Olaf Scholz, himself a Social Democrat, announced a massive spending spree to equip Germany militarily after Russian President Vladimir Putin‘s offensive in Ukraine. On Wednesday, the parliamentary defense committee approved the purchase of 140 missiles for the Heron TP drones from Israel in a contract worth 152.6 million euros ($165 million), sources said.
READ THE STORY: The Defense Post
Nearmap and DroneShield join forces to protect against unmanned aerial threats
FROM THE MEDIA: DroneShield Limited an Australian/US global leader in Artificial Intelligence based platforms for protection against advanced threats such as drones and autonomous systems, has today announced an enhanced version of its DroneSentry-C2TM Command-and-Control software, in partnership with location intelligence firm, Nearmap. Nearmap provides city-scale 3D content, artificial intelligence data sets, geospatial tools, and high-resolution aerial imagery in Australia, New Zealand, and North America. DroneSentry-C2TM provides an intuitive and feature-rich software platform, providing counter-UAS awareness and reporting capability. It integrates both DroneShield and third-party C-UAS sensors and effectors. Those include multiple AI-enabled sensing and tracking products, such as RfOneTM long-range direction-finding sensors for UAS detection and tracking, and camera-agnostic DroneOptIDTM optical/thermal camera AI software. DroneSentry-C2TM will come with a standard mapping solution for cost-sensitive customers, and an optional Nearmap mapping upgrade for best-in-class mapping data for high-performance environments, such as Government, intelligence, Homeland Security and defense markets, when precision and quality are critical. The system receives regular secure software updates, capitalizing on years of DroneShield’s extensive experience in the C-UAS arena.
READ THE STORY: Geospatial World
Japan Coast Guard to start MQ-9B operations in October
FROM THE MEDIA: The Japan Coast Guard (JCG) has selected the General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) MQ-9B SeaGuardian unmanned air vehicle for its Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems Project. Operations are to commence in October 2022, says GA-ASI. The SeaGuardian variant of the MQ-9 is optimized for maritime surveillance. The aircraft will support a range of JCG missions including surveillance, search and rescue, disaster response, and law enforcement. GA-ASI had previously dispatched an MQ-9B to Japan in 2020 to demonstrate the capabilities of the platform for maritime surveillance. This followed a previous trial in 2018. “We’re proud to support the JCG’s maritime surveillance mission with our SeaGuardian UAS,” says GA-ASI chief executive Linden Blue. “The system’s ability to provide affordable, extremely long-endurance airborne surveillance with long-range sensors in the maritime domain is unprecedented.” GA-ASI provides few details of the programme, such as the value of the agreement or the number of aircraft to be procured. Aircraft numbers could be substantial: in late 2018 GA-ASI told FlightGlobal that the JCG might require “a good-sized fleet”, given the coverage area. GA-ASI says that SeaGuardian incorporates a range of sensors, including a surface-search radar with an inverse synthetic aperture radar imaging mode, an Automatic Identification System (AIS) receiver allowing it to identify ships, and a high-definition, full motion video sensor with optical and infrared cameras.
READ THE STORY: Flight Global
Shanghai is flying drones over districts to tell citizens under lockdown to 'curb your soul's desire for freedom' and comply with COVID-19 restrictions
FROM THE MEDIA: Videos have circulated on Twitter and the Chinese social media platform Weibo of what appears to be a drone hovering in the sky, broadcasting Covid lockdown guidelines to residents under quarantine. One particular clip shows a drone with red, flashing lights hovering above apartment buildings, broadcasting a message loudly. The video's original poster said the clip was taken in a residential district in Shanghai. "Everyone, don't sing songs on your balcony. Songjiang Jiuting Park residents sang a little bit and then there was a drone coming over to say to control the desire for freedom in one's soul," read the poster's caption on the video. In the video, the drone is seen flying over buildings, and a robotic voice broadcasts the message: "Residents of Jiuting. During the pandemic, we request that you strictly abide by COVID-19 restrictions and related guidelines. Control your soul's desire for freedom. Do not open the window or sing. This increases the risk of COVID-19 transmission." Other drones have also been seen flying over Shanghainese districts, prompting some posters who filmed videos of the drones to call it "a glimpse of Cyberpunk 2077," referencing the dystopian video game.
READ THE STORY: News Yahoo
U.S. is training Ukrainians to use their new Switchblade drones, discussing fuel needs
FROM THE MEDIA: The Biden administration approved another $100 million in military assistance for Ukraine this week and announced that it has sent Ukraine 100 Switchblade drones, a type of light "kamikaze" drone that can be outfitted with explosives and flown into enemy targets. Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said Wednesday that Ukraine has a particularly "urgent" need for Javelin portable anti-tank systems, and a senior Pentagon official elaborated that the "urgent need for Javelins" and the larger $100 million package is because "Ukrainians wanted to make sure that they're ready for increased Russian activity" in the Donbas. Kirby also said the U.S. military has trained a "very small number" of Ukrainian soldiers in the U.S. to use the Switchback drones. This "very small number" of Ukrainians, "less than a dozen," were already in the U.S. for professional training, "and we took advantage of the opportunity to pull them aside for a couple of days and provide them some training, particularly on the Switchblade UAVs," the senior Pentagon official said. "That is a system that is not organic to the Ukrainian military," though it's "not a very difficult system to operate," and "our expectation is that these individuals will be heading back into Ukraine relatively soon, as they were originally anyway."
READ THE STORY: The Week
Turkish drones by Greek minds
FROM THE MEDIA: Much has been written about what Turkey has achieved in the area of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). But few know that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s son-in-law, Selçuk Bayraktar, was introduced to this technology by a Greek professor who teaches at a famous U.S. university and is considered a “guru.” Bayraktar holds a senior position in the Turkish war industry and is considered the man who set up the research and production program for unmanned aerial vehicles. Obviously, I am not writing this to accuse a brilliant Greek scientist who cooperated with a Turkish student 17 years ago. But I am writing this because it seems stupid and suicidal to me that the Greek state has not found him and other such scientists who have excelled and has not already founded such an excellent production program in Greece. I confess that I do not understand it. We have all read that a very good joint effort was initiated by the University of Thessaly and the Hellenic Aerospace Industry (EAV) for the construction of the first Greek drone, which will be ready in two years. A commendable effort that we all hope will bring results. But the country’s needs are more urgent. We are forced to rent or buy drones while Turkey has specialized knowledge in their construction. And there are Greek experts with incredible know-how and experience who could offer ready-made solutions.
READ THE STORY: AHVAL
Ukraine calls for DJI to block Russia’s drones
FROM THE MEDIA: DJI has been accused of contributing to Russia’s invasion of the Ukraine, with its drones enabling the Russian military to kill Ukrainian civilians, according to the Ukrainian vice-prime minister Mykhailo Fedorov. In a letter to DJI founder and CEO Frank Wang, then posted on Twitter, Fedorov urged him to ‘end any relationships’ with the Russian military, insisting that its troops are using DJI’s products to navigate missiles to kill Ukrainian civilians. He asked the Chinese tech giant to block all DJI products purchased and activated in Russia, Syria, and Lebanon. While DJI conceded there was video evidence indicating the Russian military was using its drones, it also said it had no control over this. At the heart of the matter is a feature built into DJI drones since 2017 called AeroScope. This was initially presented as a safety feature – if a ‘rogue’ DJI drone gets too close to an airport or otherwise enters a prohibited airspace, law enforcement or the military can track it down using a special AeroScope receiver: every DJI drone broadcasts a signal can be used to calculate its position as well as the pilot’s. DJI claims these AeroScope receivers have a working range of 50Km.
READ THE STORY: Inside Imaging
UK: Royal Navy tests abilities of two different drones for front-line operations
FROM THE MEDIA: It is the second time the drones have been trialed with initial testing last year the first step of showing how they could be utilized in operations. Now, a second, more intense series of trials have taken place and both the Malloy Aeronautics T-600 quadcopter and Windracers Autonomous Systems’ Ultra drone proved their abilities to carry heavy payloads of 100kg over long distance and more than 250kg over a shorter distance. The Heavy Lift Challenge is a collaboration between 700X, the navy’s Office of the Chief Technology Officer, and Defense Equipment and Support’s (DE&S) Future Capability Group. It aims to encourage industry partners to see what equipment they have which could be adapted for use by the Royal Navy to deliver supplies such as humanitarian stores, first aid, ammunition, and spare parts to the front line. Both Malloy and Windracers were given a £300,000 contract to further develop their drones. And the aircraft was impressed in the most recent trials which saw the Malloy T-600 fly with a 250kg payload while the fixed-wing Windracers Ultra dropped a 100kg payload 1,000km away to a platform replicating a Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carrier flight deck. It was able to slow on approach and drop its package with pinpoint accuracy. The ULTRA (Unmanned Low-cost TRAnsport) platform was developed by Windracers in collaboration with a team at Southampton University, in response to the need for a new type of light cargo drone.
READ THE STORY: Navy Recognition
Alphabet's Wing rolls out commercial drone delivery in Texas
FROM THE MEDIA: The first commercial drone deliveries in the U.S. will take off on Thursday as Alphabet's (NASDAQ:GOOG, NASDAQ:GOOGL) Wing unleashes its aircraft over the suburban towns of Frisco and Little Elm, just north of Dallas, Texas. If successful, the service could revolutionize how goods are currently transported around cities. Wing has partnered with Walgreens (NASDAQ:WBA), Blue Bell Creameries, Easyvet, and Texas Health for the initial rollout, meaning consumers will be able to order prescription pet meds and ice cream, among other items. How it works? Retail workers will load up the drones outside participating stores (rather than a Wing facility), which will then climb to a cruise height of about 150 feet above ground. The drones can carry small packages that weigh 2.6 lbs or less, and are also autonomous, but are remotely monitored by pilots who can take control if something goes wrong. Once a delivery drone reaches its destination, it will stay at roughly 23 feet while lowering the package on board into a customer's backyard via a cable. "I do want to set clear expectations: Not everyone who lives within range of our drones will be able to order on Day 1," Wing CEO Adam Woodworth declared. "We're going to invite customers in groups to make sure everyone has a good first experience with drone delivery." Eventually, Wing hopes to expand the service to all the tens of thousands of homes in Frisco and Little Elm, and then to other regions in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area.
READ THE STORY: Seeking Alpha
These drone operators used to make 'nice' YouTube videos. Now they record alleged Russian war crimes
FROM THE MEDIA: A gray car speeds on a highway near Kyiv, heading towards the Ukrainian capital. As it approaches a Russian position, it does a sharp U-turn, stopping shortly after. A man then opens the door. A second later, he is on the ground. "He raised his hands above his head -- and in this moment, he was shot," Oleksandr Radzikhovskiy of Ukraine's Territorial Defense forces told CNN. Radzikhovskiy is a member of the Bugatti company, a special intelligence gathering unit operating on the outskirts of Kyiv. The unit filmed the March 7 incident on the E-40 -- a key highway connecting the western city of Lviv to Kyiv -- with a drone, as Russian forces held the area. In the footage, Russian tanks are seen facing east towards Kyiv -- the direction Russian forces were pushing towards in early March -- as civilians tried to flee a nearby town. "A group of cars was fleeing from a small town, just outside Irpin, where they'd been sitting for about 10 days, without food, water or warm clothes," Radzikhovskiy said. "They didn't know what's happening, they didn't know that Russian forces had advanced and taken this position."
READ THE STORY: CNN
Second FAA BVLOS drone operations waiver for Iris Automation
FROM THE MEDIA: The FAA has granted Iris Automation a second waiver for Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) autonomous drone operations on behalf of the City of Reno. But while the previous waiver required the use of Iris Automation’s advanced detect and avoid solution Casia X, this one utilizes the company’s Casia G ground-based solution. The City of Reno is a participant in the FAA’s BEYOND program that seeks to advance more complex drone integration in the National Airspace System (NAS). The fresh waiver allows an operator to fly without the need for visual observers or the Remote Pilot in Command to maintain visual contact with the drone. Casia G uses Iris Automation’s patented detect and avoid technology to create a stationary perimeter of sanitized, monitored airspace, enabling drones to complete missions safely. The system also provides awareness of intruder-piloted aircraft to maneuver drones to safe zones. Since Casia G does not require integration onto the aircraft, the payload stays preserved for sensors or packages. Its ground-based placement comes with the flexibility of establishing sanitized air space permanently. And by providing a sanitized “bubble” of airspace, it could even support an operator flying multiple drones in the times to come.
READ THE STORY: DroneDJ
Items of interest
Russia-Ukraine conflict: A look at Switchblade 'kamikaze' drones (Video)
The US is sending 'kamikaze' killer drones to Ukraine to help Kiev in its fight against Russia. So, what are Switchblade drones?
Drone Delivery, Vulnerability of GPS, and Future of Technology in the U.S. (Video)
FROM THE MEDIA: Due to how fragile GPS technology is, Josh Morales founded Starnav, which uses navigation and positioning that isn't reliant on satellites. If applied, this new system can provide a backup to major infrastructures in the country. So what are some other technological applications that can use this system? let's dive right in and see why Josh Morales is a real American game changer.
About this Product
These open source products are reviewed from analysts at InfoDom Securities and provide possible context about current media trends in regard to the realm of cyber security. The stories selected cover a broad array of cyber threats and are intended to aid readers in framing key publicly discussed threats and overall situational awareness. InfoDom Securities does not specifically endorse any third-party claims made in their original material or related links on their sites, and the opinions expressed by third parties are theirs alone. Contact InfoDom Securities at dominanceinformation@gmail.com