Interceptor UAV Net Deployment for Low-Collateral Drone Disablement
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Solution Overview
Problem
There is a need for systems to counter unmanned air vehicles (UAVs) to prevent damage to military and civilian installations, as existing technologies lack effective methods to disable or intercept UAVs without causing collateral damage.
Innovation Solution
A counter-UAV system comprising an interceptor UAV that is launched autonomously towards a detected target UAV, equipped with a propulsion system, guidance system, and an engagement system, including a net deployment mechanism to disable the target UAV, which can also return to the ground for reuse if unsuccessful.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional kinetic energy weapons or explosives are used to intercept UAVs, then the UAV can be disabled, but collateral damage may occur to surrounding areas or installations
Solution Approach 1:
A net is introduced as an intermediary substance between the interceptor UAV and the target UAV. The net physically entangles the target UAV, disabling it without the explosive or kinetic impact that would cause collateral damage. This mediator allows force transfer while avoiding harmful effects to surrounding areas.
Solution Approach 2:
The net is designed as a disposable, low-cost component that can be sacrificed during the interception process. Rather than using expensive or potentially harmful weapons, the system employs inexpensive netting material that achieves the disablement function without creating long-term harmful effects or requiring complex recovery operations.
2Device complexity
If interceptor UAVs are designed for single-use missions, then they can be simpler in design, but the cost and time for counter-UAV operations increases due to continuous deployment needs
Solution Approach 1:
The interceptor UAV is designed with recovery capability, allowing it to return to base after mission completion or abort. The net is discarded after use while the expensive UAV platform is recovered and reused. This selective discarding strategy reduces operational costs and increases productivity by minimizing the need for continuous UAV deployment.
Solution Approach 2:
The system separates the disposable net component from the reusable UAV platform. This segmentation allows the complex and expensive UAV to be preserved while the simple, inexpensive net is sacrificed. The modular design enables the UAV to perform multiple missions with different nets, improving operational efficiency.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If the interceptor UAV carries a net deployment mechanism, then it can disable the target UAV without collateral damage, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The net deployment mechanism is extracted as a separate, specialized subsystem rather than being integrated throughout the entire UAV structure. This allows the net deployment function to be added to the UAV platform without fundamentally redesigning the entire system, managing complexity while achieving the desired harm reduction.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods for countering an unmanned air vehicle are disclosed. An example method includes detecting a target UAV via a first component of a target acquisition system. The example method further includes, in response to detecting the target UAV, directing, by executing one or more computer-readable instructions of a launch control system in communication with the target acquisition system, an interceptor UAV to launch. The example method further includes, subsequent to the launch, tracking the target UAV via a second component of the target acquisition system, the second component carried by the interceptor UAV. The example method further includes, when the target UAV is within a target range of the interceptor UAV, deploying a disabling element from the interceptor UAV toward the target UAV.