Question of the day: how can a Russian buy an antidron to protect his home?

Moscow City is recovering from two consecutive drone attacks. This is not the first such action in the depths of Russian territory. Ukrainian drones regularly fly into border areas, but as practice shows, they also reach the capital. In this situation, you can't help but wonder if it's possible to buy yourself an «alarm backpack» that suppresses illegal activity in the sky or a gun with which security forces shoot down drones. On the one hand, the topic of private anti—drone systems is on the surface, on the other hand, it is full of nuances and is not fully regulated.

What are the antidrons

First of all, it is necessary to separate the devices for detection and for counteraction. The first ones are needed in order to find an intruder in the sky and inform a person about it. The second is an active struggle with the device.

For detection, radar systems are used, for example: they work on the basis of echolocation, emitting radio waves and checking the reflection from aerial objects. Such systems are able to see drones on distant approaches, but they also cost a lot.

Optical systems use cameras and sensors to detect drones. They can use machine vision and artificial intelligence technologies to identify a flying object. They are much cheaper than radars, but their effectiveness depends on the weather and time of day.

Acoustic systems analyze sound waves and look for those that are characteristic of flying drones. Such devices are also not expensive, but in the city or near noisy objects can give false developments.

Active intervention systems are just devices for fighting drogs, they can make a drone sit down, or simply disable it and it will fall. As a rule, existing systems on the market combine two components: detection and suppression.

«The drone suppression unit consists of electronic warfare equipment and can lead to partial short-term suppression of GSM, GPS/ glonass, Wi-Fi, LPD433 signals within a radius of 3 km at the time of UAV suppression. This is what puts it out of action», — says an employee of the anti—drone systems manufacturing company.

How much does such protection cost

A couple of years ago, only security firms and specialized enterprises were engaged in such equipment. Now you can buy your own, almost pocket-sized air defense on marketplaces. The price run-up is quite large. Sometimes it is justified: it is one thing to install an umbrella over a huge enterprise, it is another thing to buy one device. But there are also oddities. So anti-drone guns on popular sites cost from 130-150 thousand rubles. And in the catalogs of many enterprises, similar devices can be found for 800-900 thousand. Apparently it's about the buyers. What is cheaper is given to marketplaces, what is more expensive — to corporate clients and for public procurement.

Devices in the video of a backpack with antennas that blocks all communication within a radius of several kilometers can be bought for 450-500 thousand rubles. Sellers assure that anyone can buy these systems, even an individual. At the same time, you do not need to register or register anything — just pay and you are safe.

Is it legal to buy home air defense?

The issue is controversial and most experts agree that it is not. In the case of devices for searching for drones, everything is simple, they only scan radio channels, look at the sky with cameras or listen to city noise with sensors. They do not emit anything, which means they are quite legal. But with suppression systems it is already more difficult. They are sources of radio emission, and powerful, capable of interfering with the work of not only the drone, but also everything around: telephone, Internet, radio communication.

In this case, in The Administrative Code has Article 13.4 «Violation of the requirements for the use of the radio frequency spectrum, the rules of radio exchange or the use of radio frequencies, non-compliance with the norms or parameters of radio emission.» For its violation, an individual faces a fine of up to 1,000 rubles.

According to an employee of a company selling such devices, a layman may well buy an antidron, but it is forbidden to turn it on.

«Theoretically, an individual can buy such a device, » the interlocutor says, «but, according to the law, it is impossible to use it. There is no direct legislation on such systems yet, but there are standards for registration of emitting devices in technical supervision. In addition, it is recommended to issue a Sanpin certificate, an EMC certificate and an electrical safety certificate for radiating devices. Only an organization can do this.»

Why then are they freely sold? Because there is demand, and the market has not yet been regulated. This phenomenon is new, the hands have not yet reached the laws and prohibitions, although experts from the drone sphere believe that if an ordinary person gets caught by the police with a gun against a UAV, the device will be taken away from him and he will not see it again.

«Anti—drones on free sale are a risk, » says Alexander Kolos, the author of the UAV management courses, «these are illegal products. It is simply forbidden for civilians to use these systems. There are no laws on this yet, but I am sure that no one will allow walking around the streets with such a device.»