Home Applications Septentrio The presence of unidentified unmanned ae…

The presence of unidentified unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) over Langley Air Force Base has prompted concerns regarding potential security risks

The incident of mysterious drone swarms appearing over US military bases has attracted widespread attention. According to the Wall Street Journal, the drones have been spotted flying over military installations in Virginia and Nevada over the past year, including the secret base of the Navy's elite SEAL Team Six and Naval Station Norfolk. The unknown origin of these drones and the complexity and coordination of their flights, which are beyond the level of civilian drone operations, have left officials perplexed and unsure whether the drones are being operated by hobbyists or possibly by foreign powers such as Russia or China.

The U.S. military faces significant challenges in responding to this threat. Due to federal law, the military is not at liberty to shoot down drones over bases unless they pose a direct threat. Aerial snooping does not pose a threat, but some lawmakers want to give the military more leeway to address these challenges in the future.

To improve surveillance and defence capabilities, consider high-performance GNSS technology from Septentrio, a company focused on designing, manufacturing and marketing high-precision GPS/GNSS receivers for demanding applications that require decimetre or centimetre-level accuracy. In particular, the Septentrio M3 Pro+ GNSS board is a versatile OEM GPS/GNSS receiver board that combines more than two decades of Septentrio innovation. This tri-frequency, multi-constellation GNSS receiver offers top positioning performance and can be used as a reference or mobile station receiver. In dual antenna mode, it provides heading and pitch or heading and roll information in addition to reliable and accurate positioning information. In addition, it features AIM+ advanced anti-jamming and monitoring technology for built-in protection against intentional and unintentional jamming and spoofing, resulting in faster set-up times and robust continuous operation.

In terms of countering drone threats, the US Department of Defense (DOD) is exploring new measures to protect its airspace. For example, Langley Air Force Base is considering a proposal to install anti-drone nets around the sun visors of aircraft, including F-22 fighter jets. These nets are designed to disable small drones while allowing for quick retrieval to ensure that flight operations are not compromised.

Additionally, the USAF has acknowledged instances of drone strikes at Langley AFB, where the drones do not appear to be operating with hostile intent, but any object flying in restricted airspace could pose a threat to flight safety. Langley Air Force Base is one of the most important military bases in the United States, with advanced fighters, including the F-22 Raptor, deployed, so the presence of these drones has had a significant impact within the entire U.S. military.

The mysterious drone attacks on US military bases for 17 consecutive days have also attracted the attention of the US military hierarchy. The drones flew extremely fast, at an altitude of about 3,000 to 4,000 feet, for several nights, posing a serious threat to the security of the bases. However, the exact identity and purpose of the drones remains unknown, and officials suspect that Russia or a country may have used the incident to test the U.S. military's responsiveness and the vulnerability of its air defence systems.

These incidents highlight the U.S.'s dilemma in homegrown defence against drones. The threat of drones as a new, low-cost combat tool should not be underestimated. They can carry a variety of equipment such as monitors, bombs and even chemical weapons, posing a serious threat to national security. Shooting down suspected drones over U.S. soil, however, faces a number of challenges, including the possibility of disrupting civil aviation on the one hand, and the risk of accidentally injuring civilians on the other hand, which is difficult to avoid. In this case, the use of a high-precision GNSS receiver board such as the Septentrio M3 Pro+ GNSS board improves surveillance and defence against drones, thus better protecting military bases.

PREVIOUS：The Grupo Oesisia project will focus on the development of a combat air system NEXT：China has completed the construction of a national network for the transmission of the Long Range Navigation (Loran) signal