Dedrone (Axon) DedroneDefender

The DedroneDefender from Dedrone (part of Axon, USA) is a handheld directional jammer against drones. It does not work broadband; it jams the control link of particular drone types narrowband and protocol-specifically. Depending on the drone's failsafe, the result is a return, a landing or a crash.

On the legal side: only authorities and armed forces operate a device of this kind. In Germany every use of frequencies requires an assignment (Section 91(1) TKG); authorities may use frequencies assigned to others only for statutory tasks and within the Bundesnetzagentur's conditions, and drone defence follows Section 15a LuftSiG. In Poland only the bodies named in Article 42 of the 2024 Electronic Communications Law may order jamming, and drone defence is governed by Article 156ze of the Aviation Law. The manufacturer names police, military and prisons as fields of use; whether and by whom jamming is permitted in prisons remains legally open.

Several control bands are jammed, each narrowband; this burdens other radio services less than broadband jamming, but acts only on protocols for which a method exists. The jamming acts in a cone of 30 degrees, so it is directional rather than all-round; the narrower the cone, the less of the surroundings is covered. The unit weighs 3.4 kg and is held in the hand. Older DroneDefender units from Battelle's development are a separate line, and their range figures do not apply to this model.

In selection what counts is how well the unit can be matched to the drone protocols in use: manufacturers' changing radio protocols require ongoing software upkeep, and drones without radio or with fibre-optic control remain unaffected. A handheld unit needs prior detection, for example from a detector or situational picture, to assign it the target. Wear concerns the battery (cycle count), antennas and housing seals.