AMSTERDAM (Reuters) -German laser maker Trumpf and defense tech firm Rohde & Schwarz said on Wednesday they are developing a system to detect, track, and shoot down drones with lasers.
Trumpf, best known as a supplier to computer chip equipment maker ASML, builds some of the most powerful lasers in the world. Rohde & Schwarz makes radar systems to detect, track and jam drones.
“Investing in European defense, and specifically counter-drone technology, is of utmost importance,” Alexander Orellano of Rohde & Schwarz said in a statement. Financial terms of the partnership were not disclosed.
The announcement by the two firms comes as European airports have been shaken by a series of drone incursions, and the European Commission has said some kind of “drone wall” is needed for protection.
The companies said their efforts would be focused on using their technologies “solely for defense”.
They said a laser-based system to counter drones would be more effective than current methods of stopping drones by jamming their signals or using physical projectiles to shoot them down.
Lasers are “highly accurate, instantly effective, capable of engaging multiple targets without reloading, rapidly deployable, and eliminate the risk of collateral damage,” they said.
(Reporting by Toby Sterling; Editing by Chris Reese)
