Point-and-shoot weapon stops drones without destroying them

Unmanned aerial vehicles – so-called drones – can be helpful, malicious, or simply disruptive, depending on the intentions of those who use them.

But while regular folks have to be worried about law suits if they shoot one down, law enforcement officers have a better solution, and one that’s currently legal (for them): stop one mid-flight.

This can be achieved with DroneDefender, a recently made available “gun” that uses radio control frequency disruption technologies to safely stop drones in the air, before they can pose a threat to military or civilian safety.

The tool is a point-and-shoot system, and has a range of some 400 meters. It gains control of the drone, immobilizing it so no remote action can occur. It does so by either disrupting remote control or GPS navigation.

The drone then either lands in the vicinity or flies back to its starting point, and effectively suffers no damage.

The bad news for users is that the company selling it – US-based Batelle – has, for the moment, decided to keep on the safe side and are offering the tool only to US government and law enforcement agencies.

Hopefully, it’s just a matter of time until regular users get the option, too.

Here’s the DroneDefender in action: