The coordinated drone attacks on Aramco infrastructure is a clear manifestation of the persistent threat from drones being used for nefarious purposes. According to the BBC, on 14 September, a spokesman for the Iran-aligned Houthi group in Yemen said it had deployed 10 drones in the attacks of two oil processing facilities in Abqaiq, Saudi Arabia, causing the oil production to be significantly reduced. A senior Iraqi intelligence official has told Middle East Eye the drones were made by Iranian drones launched from Hashd al-Shaabi bases in southern Iraq.

The crippling attacks breached the Iraqi and Kuwaiti airspace and targeted critical infrastructure causing tremendous damage. It can be assumed that traditional air defence systems are failing and ineffective to detect or mitigate small drones. The intelligence is gathering hour by hour, but the fact remains that the attacks hit critical infrastructure and caused rampage. Luckily, there is no reports of loss of lives.

Drones are being used daily for malicious purposes worldwide like smuggling contraband into prisons, obstructing air traffic at airports or directly attacking critical infrastructure as seen in this case with Aramco.

“At MyDefence we have made significant technology investments in years past to become the market leader in the development of RF technology where data from sensors, jammers and radars are used to detect and defeat malicious drones. Our partners and customers recognize that RF-based systems are crucial to protecting against unwanted drones. We will continue to invest our time and energy to help mitigate this threat now and in the future.”, says Dan Hermansen, CEO at MyDefence Communication.

As an OEM vendor of Hardware and C2 (Command & Control) specializing in the development of RF & Radar technologies, we remain committed to collaborating with industry partners to meet the complex demands of the security landscape.

In our EU-based Horizon 2020 project called KNOX, we have worked with multiple large-scale installations of protecting against malicious drones in prisons, stadiums, police assets and airports. Our solutions suite covers both mobile usage and fixed installations all integrated into the same infrastructure sharing data between multiple sites, vehicles and ground personnel. The equipment is proven in the field and ready for immediate deployment.

You can see more on www.mydefence.dk and http://knoxproject.eu