© IXI Technology

Drones are being used for much more than simply taking aerial videos and making deliveries. They’ve been used to commit criminal offenses, survey illegal border crossings and impeded lifesaving efforts by flying into no-fly zones.  Local law enforcement agencies are considering new methods to bring offending drones down to earth quickly and reliably.

They are using a new electronic device known as the “Drone Killer” that could possibly help with this dilemma.  A Drone Killer was recently acquired by the Oceanside Police Department and has the ability to disable a drone in flight and bring it to the ground quickly.  The technology is being considered by other agencies across America just so that they can have the ability stop unauthorized drone flights.

The reason this has become important is essentially for emergency situations, stated Aaron Doyle, Oceanside police lieutenant. He made a statement last week and explained that the Drone Killer will not be used for complaints about others flying a drone. It’s simply a measure to tackle life and death situations.  The necessity arose at the end of 2017 during the northern San Diego County’s Lilac fire. This disaster destroyed over 150 buildings and drove thousands of people to leave their homes.

As rescue teams were working to save lives, someone flew a drone that impeded the work of aerial emergency operations causing the rescue team to stop for over an hour. The drone was a nuisance, to say the least, and to avoid a collision, firefighting work had to stop.  One full hour of critical work was stopped because of a single drone and the emergency operators could do nothing about this. These types of situations have given birth to the need for the Drone Killer just in case the incident ever happens again.

The quest led officers at the company IXI Technology, to work on a solution. IXI Technology has been providing high-tech electronic devices to the American military for about 35 years now. IXI supplied them with the Drone Killer making an official presentation to the Oceanside City Police Department. The department is the first law enforcement agency in San Diego County with the device.

The device resembles a gun and can be pointed at a drone just like a gun. It has a 30-degree field view and a range of about half a mile.  Depending on the programming of the drone, it will do one of three things. It could hover in place, it could come crashing down or lastly, the drone could return to its operator.