With 206 aircraft from more than 20 nations, including 40 aircraft from the Austrian Armed Forces and 37 from the Flying Bulls (-> Flying Bulls satisfied with “Airpower 2024”), the “Airpower 2024” (-> 250,000 visitors came to Zeltweg) was once again Europe’s biggest air show. At such a major event, the safety of the spectators and participants has top priority.
An important component of this is protection against illegal drones to ensure that the breathtaking performances of aerobatic teams and display pilots (-> Interview with F-35 display pilot Melanie “Mach” Kluesner), the Flying Bulls and the Eurofighters of the Austrian Armed Forcescan be safely celebrated by the spectators.
The Austrian Armed Forces use the “Electronic Warfare for Drone Defense” (ELDRO) element for this purpose, and these specialists have been relying on the Aartos DDS sensor system since 2018, as manufacturer Aaronia states in a recent press release. And further: “After the successful cooperation at ‘Airpower 2022’, it was obvious that the Austrian Armed Forces would once again rely on the experts from Aaronia to support them in the task of protecting the event from drones.”
Aaronia Austria provided a mast system with sensor, radar and camera, which was combined with the existing system to form a detection network. According to the press release, Aartos was able to “play to one of its many strengths here – the simple integration of different components into one system according to the modular principle”.
The new fully automatic 28-meter mast system, which is equipped with an Aartos X9 high-performance RF sensor, was another upgrade this year. “The system not only takes the existing monitoring of the entire spectrum to a new level, it also significantly simplifies handling once again,” the company stated in the press release.
“An air show like ‘Airpower 2024’, with its very challenging topographical conditions, is an event where our mobile Aartos solution can really come into its own,” explains Stephan Kraschansky, CEO of Aaronia Austria. “Our system is ready for use in just a few minutes. Thanks to the RTSA Suite Pro software, the command center enables seamless 360-degree surveillance, far beyond the defined no-fly zone. It detects more than 99 percent of all commercial drones, even if they are pre-programmed.”
During the event, due to the intensive media work following the numerous detections at F1 (-> Formula 1 GP Austria: Aaronia secured drone protection) and MotoGP, there was not a single drone sighting. Only on the eve of “Airpower” were there a few incidents involving drones, all of which were successfully averted. The simultaneous detection of the home/launch position, with an accuracy of five meters, guides the military police precisely to the respective operator in the event of an incident.
Here to our drone topic area with all the latest news on the subject.
