The proliferation of remote-controlled unmanned aerial vehicles has spawned a new type of threat to public safety – drones can be used to deliver explosives and poisonous substances to attack critical infrastructure. Toshiba is gearing up to take one of the leading positions in the drone interception market by the end of the decade.

Image Source: Nikkei Asian Review

As the Nikkei Asian Review explains, Toshiba has made an investment in Fortem Technologies, an American company that develops technologies for detecting drones in the air, as the first step towards achieving this goal. The Utah-based developer received about $ 15 million from Toshiba, but what part of the capital the Japanese corporation will ultimately be able to claim is not specified. The companies will closely cooperate in the technology field, as well as help promote drone interception systems in the global market.

Airports, military and government facilities, stadiums and engineering infrastructure, as well as oil storage and nuclear power plants – this is just a rough list of objects to be protected from attacks by unmanned aerial vehicles. Toshiba is leaning towards the following algorithm: first, drones must be detected, and then intercepted as safely as possible. The destruction of flying objects in the air is not always safe, since they can carry toxic substances or explosives on board. In this case, “interceptors” will use the nets to catch unwanted visitors.

According to Toshiba’s estimates, by 2030 the capacity of the drone interception systems market will be measured at $ 2,7 billion per year, the Japanese company claims at least 10% of this segment. In 2018, Venezuela attempted to assassinate the country’s president using an unmanned aerial vehicle. In the same year, the appearance of suspicious aircraft in the vicinity of one of the British airports caused interruptions in its work. Military operations with the use of UAVs for various purposes are also being conducted more and more often, therefore, to protect ground objects, one must learn to use means of intercepting them.