Czech Officials Spend Big to Stop Rogue Drones

The Czech Republic is prepared to spend big money to kill small drones.

This past week, the Czech Interior Ministry announced a plan to spend around $2.4 million (USD) to install anti-drone systems at several restricted government facilities.

The European nation has established several “no-fly drone zones” including military airfields and installations, as well as civilian airports, and the presidential residence, Prague Castle.

“While drones can and are used for the broader public good … like any tool they can be twisted to serve dubious or even nefarious purposes — from intrusion and spying over private property or restricted air space to the potential plotting of or use in a terrorist attack,” reports Jan Velinger for Radio Prague.

“The system the Czech police would opt for would apparently be mobile, guarding perimeters at set areas,” Velinger said, adding that the drone-killing system may also be deployed at prisons and military bases.

Even as the Czech government scrambles to down rogue drones, the nation’s national police force wants to deploy drones across several regions and hopes to get authorization to monitor public gatherings and surveil areas with rough, unreachable terrain.

Meanwhile, other European governments are shopping for anti-drone products. The Latvia State Police may soon release the hounds – or at least the nets – on errant drones in its national airspace. The Latvian Interior Ministry is in talks with home-grown UAV manufacturer Drone Technology to develop an anti-drone system using either net-wielding drones or net-shooting rifles.

In April, a group of Ukrainian students wowed a tech conference in Zhytomyr, demonstrating an anti-drone system that can be used to power down unmanned or manned aerial and ground vehicles. During the demonstration, the device could “target vehicles based on sound. Two other students installed a sensor on a toy car. It automatically stops the machine if an obstacle is near.”