Dedrone (Axon) RF-160

The RF-160 from Dedrone (Axon, USA) is an omnidirectional passive RF sensor that detects and classifies drones. It works stationary and connects to the Dedrone cloud over LAN or cellular. Dedrone addresses its sensors generally to critical infrastructure, airports, prisons and events.

The detection range is 1.6 km under normal conditions for most drones and up to 5.0 km under ideal conditions for certain drones; the lower figure is the one to plan with. The sensor covers 360 degrees, measures 300 × 300 × 405 mm, weighs 6.8 kg, is protected to IP65 against dust and water jets and works from −20 to +55 °C. It draws a typical 21 W, powered by Power over Ethernet to IEEE 802.3bt or from the mains.

The sensor sends no jamming signals and does not interfere with the drone’s radio link. Whether and how receiving and evaluating third-party radio signals is permitted (secrecy of telecommunications, data protection) has to be clarified for Germany and Poland before use; the link to the cloud also raises questions of data protection and storage location. Jammers may be operated only by authorities in Germany and Poland (Section 91 TKG, Article 42 of the Polish Electronic Communications Law).

Omnidirectional antennas receive equally from all directions; the direction of a signal comes only from direction finding, a bearing sensor or several sensors in a network. The RF-160 therefore reports that a drone is in range and what type it is, without showing a direction itself. Classification depends on the signature library, and keeping it updated is part of operation. With PoE, the power budget of the switch has to be checked; radio silence remains the limit, because the sensor does not see drones that do not transmit.