Counter-UAS (C-UAS)

C-UAS capabilities fall broadly into detection and mitigation. Detection and tracking use sensors such as radar, radio-frequency monitoring, electro-optical and acoustic systems to find a drone and, ideally, locate its operator. Mitigation — physically or electronically defeating the drone — is far more legally and operationally constrained near airports, since jamming, spoofing or kinetic effects can themselves endanger aircraft, disrupt navigation or violate the law. For this reason, detection and coordinated response often precede any active countermeasure.

Deploying C-UAS at a civil airport is a careful balance: the same techniques that neutralise a hostile drone can interfere with GNSS, communications and other aircraft. Effective programmes therefore combine technology with procedures — clear authority to act, coordination with air traffic control and law enforcement, and decision thresholds — rather than relying on a single device. Regulation of who may use mitigation, and how, varies considerably between jurisdictions.

C-UAS posture and incidents at a given airport are part of its security picture. Within an aviation security intelligence context, AeroVigil can relate reporting on drone activity and the surrounding threat environment to the airports and operations where counter-UAS considerations apply.