2027 Agenda

Unauthorized drones increasingly threaten public safety operations, critical infrastructure, airports, correctional facilities, stadiums, and emergency scenes. For the communications and security professionals in these environments, however, stopping the drone is only part of the challenge. Mitigation methods must also minimize interference, collateral effects, and disruption to the critical communications and operations that first responders depend upon.

This session provides a practical introduction to RF-Cyber counter-drone technology for critical communications professionals. Attendees will learn how passive RF-Cyber technology can detect, locate, track, and identify commercially available and DIY drones and their controllers; distinguish authorized from unauthorized activity; and provide actionable situational awareness without disrupting communications. The session will then explain RF-Cyber takeover: how the technology can surgically assume control of unauthorized drones and redirect them along controlled routes to predefined safe landing locations. This approach enables precise threat mitigation while helping preserve surrounding communications, authorized drone activity, and operational continuity. Finally, the session will place RF-Cyber within a broader, multilayer counter-UAS architecture, examining where radar, electro-optical sensors, sensor fusion, and additional mitigation options can complement a foundational RF-Cyber layer.

Attendees will gain a practical framework for evaluating counter-drone technologies, their effectiveness in mitigating threats, as well as their ability to preserve mission-critical communications and contribute to operational continuity even while conducting counter-drone defense.