AARTOS protected the largest air show in Europe from illegal drones

200 civil and military aircrafts from 20 nations, 50 aircrafts of the Austrian Armed Forces and two eight-hour flight programs attracted 275,000 spectators to the air show in Styria. Breath-taking performances by aerobatic teams, the Flying Bulls and the Eurofighters of the Austrian Armed Forces, among others, not only require extraordinary skills from the pilots, but also a special safety training for a safe course of events and for the protection of the spectators. Part of this training and preparation highlights protection against illegal drones.

The Austrian Armed Forces use their "Electronic Warfare for Drone Defense" (ELDRO) system for this purpose. Since 2020, the "AARTOS DDS" sensor system has been in use as the core of ELDRO. It is no wonder that the Bundesheer had the experts from AARONIA support them in the task of protecting the event from drones. The specialists from Strickscheid arrived with the complete drone detection system installed in a black Mercedes Sprinter, which can be used completely autonomously and represents the optimal solution for any form of event.

Major Features of the AARTOS:

• Determination of the position and altitude of drones
• Scanning of the entire frequency spectrum, including parallel scanning of different frequencies
• Highspeed localization of drone activities
• Determination of the position of the drone pilot in real time

"An event like Airpower22 is one where the AARTOS system integrated into the vehicle can fully show its strengths," explains Thorsten Chmielus, CEO and founder of AARONIA AG. "Ready for use in just a few minutes, the built-in command center enables seamless 360° monitoring, thanks to the RTSA Suite PRO software. Moreover, it detects over 99% of all commercial drones, even if they are pre-programmed."

Furthermore, for Airpower22, the mobile mission vehicle served as a command center for the systems deployed by the Austrian Armed Forces.

Regardless of established no-fly zones and the additional warnings given to security officers to avoid any risks, there were numerous drone detections during the air show. In all cases, the drones were intercepted early and effortlessly thanks to the performance of the AARTOS system. Moreover, the simultaneous detection of the home/launch position, with an accuracy of 5 meters, led the military police to the respective operator with pinpoint accuracy in all cases.

A successful demonstration of the AARTOS’ capability to reliably protect Airpower spectators from illegally used drones in the future.

ABOUT AARTOS

With more than 200 installations, AARTOS is the world’s leading anti-drone system. In use since 2015, the system, which is currently available in its 6th generation, is constantly being improved through ongoing development. The AARTOS is the best solution for protection against ever increasing drone threats.