Response To An Evolving And Growing Security Threat Across The Region

Malicious drone usage is rapidly changing the security environment across the Middle East. Drone attacks in the region have become a daily occurrence, threatening the safety of armed forces personnel and citizens alike. The increasing frequency of these attacks and the technological advancement of the vehicles being used is truly a cause for concern. While developing and implementing counter drone systems is an immediate requirement, it is imperative that strategies are adopted to stem the flow of shop bought and military specification drones to malicious parties.

That will be the focus of a counter drone conference set for late February in Amman, Jordan.

The requirement to develop a counter drone strategy in the Middle East is more pressing than anywhere else in the world. Although some, more improvised, solutions are already being employed on the battlefield, there needs to be a movement towards a reliable and economical approach to neutralising this threat. In Yemen, the Saudi led coalition is successfully nullifying shop bought quadcopters and Houthi built Qasef-1 drones through the use of multimillion dollar Patriot missiles. However, this success belies a considerable disparity in the exchange cost, a fact which further reinforces the requirement for a purpose built, cost effective solution.

In the civilian context, the uptake in drone usage by hobbyist, and in some places the continued hostilities of civil war has dramatically changed the security environment for civil aviation, policing and facility protection. Government agencies have plenty of work to do with regulators and industry experts to develop an effective counter drone framework and, as the drone threat continues to evolve and multiply, discussions must continue in an effort to stay ahead of malicious pilots.

It is in this context that ASDEvents will host its inaugural Countering Drones Middle East conference February 27-28.

Key questions to be addressed include:

• How is drone and counter-drone technology developing and how might this impact the security of key industries?
• How vulnerable is critical national infrastructure, in particular, to civilian drones? What are the current safeguards to protect against this and how can we measure this risk?
• What kind of counter-drone solutions should commercial organisations employ, if any, and what might be the legal implications of their use?
• Hear from industry experts on the latest counter-drone technological developments and how they plan to solve enduring challenges for government and commercial industry – from detection to disruption
• What are the regulatory obstacles that stand in the way of the development and employment of different types of counter drone solutions? What measures are appropriate and in what contexts?

(Image from file)

FMI: Full Agenda