FBI Director Christopher Wray warned Congress on Wednesday that terrorist groups are looking to use drones to wage terror attacks in the U.S.
“I think we do know that terrorist organizations have an interest in using drones,” Wray testified in a hearing for the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee Wedsday.
“We’ve seen that overseas already with growing frequency. I think the expectation is that it’s coming here imminently.”
I think they are relatively easy to acquire, relatively easy to operate, and quite difficult to disrupt and monitor.”
(FBI Director Christopher Wray has warned US Congress on Wednesday of imminent terrorist drone attacks on the US soil. Courtesy of C-Span, Chuck Ross and YouTube)
Nicholas Rasmussen, the director of the National Counterterrorism Center echoed Wray’s concerns.
“Two years ago this was not a problem,” Rasmussen testified during the hearing.
“A year ago it was an emerging problem. Now it’s a real problem. So we’re quickly trying to up our game.”
Weaponized drones, also known as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), have increasingly been used in attacks by foreign terrorists in war plagued regions around the globe.
(Learn More. Embedded with Iraqi special forces, Ben C. Solomon was on the front lines in Mosul when a threat came from above: An ISIS drone dropping a grenade. Courtesy of The New York Times and YouTube. Posted on Apr 14, 2017)
Rasmussen went on to explain that counterterrorism agencies have ramped up efforts to bring together intelligence professionals to help understand the tactics and techniques that drone-using terrorist groups might employ.
“That could be dropping small explosives the size of a grenade.”
“It could be dispersal of toxins, potentially.”
(Learn More. Two Kurdish fighters were killed in Mosul, Iraq when a small ISIS-controlled drone exploded after being intercepted. A Kurdish defense spokesperson told Reuters the device has been booby-trapped. Courtesy of TomoNews US and YouTube. Posted on Oct 13, 2016)
The MESMER® Counter Drone System
Department 13’s (D13) MESMER® Counter Drone System, a competitor in the 2017 ‘ASTORS’ Homeland Security Awards Program, is a unique, patented drone mitigation solution that can stop, redirect, land or take total control of a drone.
MESMER provides a safe and effective method of protecting personnel and infrastructure from dangerous drones.
(What is MESMER? Find out here. Courtesy of Department 13 and YouTube)
How Does MESMER Work?
MESMER will prevent drones from physically harming people, damaging and disrupting critical infrastructure, and stealing intellectual property.
D13’s MESMER Counter Drone System, is a unique, patented, low power, non-jamming, non-line of sight, non-kinetic drone mitigation solution.
The key differentiator for MESMER is its ability to manipulate weaknesses in all digital radio protocols.
This allows MESMER to put into effect sophisticated automated detection and mitigation strategies to stop, redirect, land or take control of drones across a range of national security and defense scenarios.
The patented technology is built on open source software architecture, which ensures that MESMER can be seamlessly integrated into existing security and surveillance systems.
The MESMER v1.0 system has three key components:
- General purpose computer server running Linus OS.
- Multiple Ethernet ports are utilized for intra-system communication.
- Software Defines Radios (SDR).
- MESMER utilizes commercially available SDRs for RF signal reception and generation.
- SDRs can generate arbitrary waveforms which are used for drone detection, identification, and mitigation.
- RF Front End.
- Provides signal conditioning on both receive and transmit channels, and allows MESMER to perform optimally in real-world environments.
(What can MESMER do? Find out here. Courtesy of Department 13 and YouTube)
What Are We Protecting?
Drones have proliferated in the market for consumer and prosumer applications, however, some drones are being used for nefarious purposes.
As such drones have been:
- Weaponized to carry dangerous payloads
- Armed with optics that can surveil friendly force movements,
- Capture a company’s valuable intellectual property & more.
(Learn More, courtesy of Department 13 and YouTube)
The MESMER system can be operated using a single graphical user interface:
- A tablet with a touch screen, or
- A standard desktop monitor with a keyboard and mouse.
The system can also be operated in auto-mitigation mode that does not require operator intervention to initiate a drone mitigation.
- D13 has a dedicated team working on the mitigation of newly available drones.
- D13 continually rolls out mitigation capabilities for new drones, in the form of software updates.
- The updates are available on a regular schedule, or at an interval that is agreed upon by the customer.
- MESMER is flexible.
- It can be installed in ruggedized enclosures equipped with climate control for fixed sites (indoor/outdoor), or used for mobile applications.
- MESMER’s transit power is less than 1 Watt.
- This is within the power limit set by the FCC.
- MESMER can reach different distances, depending on the type of antennae being used.
- MESMER can be used as a standalone.
- Or, MESMER can be integrated into Command & Control (or security) systems, via RJ45 cable and standard IP-based networking.
How Do I Purchase MESMER?
MESMER v1.0 is available for purchase with environmental enclosure and antenna mast options to suit a wide range of applications (such as fixed installations and mobile security).
- D13 understands the drone economy and your requirement for adaptable and reconfigurable equipment that can be regularly upgraded to manage new drone threats.
- With a MESMER purchase, D13 offers software maintenance with software upgrades that are easily installed for one year, plus software renewal options.
- D13 also offers training and servicing options that support a turnkey solution.
- Department 13 International Ltd, (D13) is an innovative, technology company focusing on wireless and mobile technologies to create solutions that transform networks and communications.
(Fascinating video presentation from the 2017 APEX workshop (Alumni Professional Exchange). Robi Sen, CTO with Department 13, offered attendees a glimpse into the future and implications of autonomous systems and artificial intelligence. Courtesy of the Center for Homeland Defense and Security Naval Postgraduate School and YouTube. Posted on May 12, 2017)
Department 13 at a Glance
D13 is an innovative, technology company developing cutting-edge software and communication systems that have the potential to transform current applications in drone defense, mobile phone IT security and secure enhanced Android phone systems.
D13 is engaged with multiple counter UAS projects to provide strategic solutions for civil, military and commercial security requirements.
D13 currently has 13 patents and 22 patent applications in the development of:
- Wireless protocol manipulation and communication networking software with applications in drone defense
- Local area and wide area cellular communications and networking
- Enhanced data bandwidth for all digital communications
- Cyber security for mobile devices, and
- Sophisticated RF technology applications (radiometrics).
D13’s Mesmer Counter Drone System in 2017 ‘ASTORS’ Homeland Security Awards Program
The 2017 ‘ASTORS’ Homeland Security Awards Program, is organized to recognize the most distinguished vendors of Physical, IT, Port Security, Law Enforcement, First Responders, (Fire, EMT, Military, Support Services Vets, SBA, Medical Tech) as well as the Federal, State, County and Municipal Government Agencies – to acknowledge their outstanding efforts to ‘Keep our Nation Secure, One City at a Time.’
As an ‘ASTORS’ competitor, the MESMER Counter Drone System will be competing against the industry’s leading providers of Innovative Perimeter Protection Systems.
American Security Today will be holding the 2017 ‘ASTORS’ Awards Presentation Luncheon at 12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m, Wednesday, November 15th at ISC East, the Northeast’s largest security industry event, in the Jacob Javits Exhibition Center in New York City.
At ISC East you will have the chance to meet with technical reps from over 225 leading brands in the security industry, allowing you to find out about new products and stay ahead of the competition.
Encompassing everything from Video Surveillance and Access Control to Smart Home Technologies and Unmanned Security, you’re sure to find products and services that will benefit your company and clients.
