--- title: "Military Contractors Are Churning out New Anti-Drone Weapons" description: "## Drone Defense" date: "2019-03-04" modified: "2019-03-04" authors: - name: "Jon Christian" job_title: "Executive Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jonc" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/anti-drone-weapons" categories: - "Drones" - "Military" - "Robotics" - "Robots and Machines" - "Science & Energy" tags: - "airports" - "drones" - "terrorism" - "the digest" --- # Military Contractors Are Churning out New Anti-Drone Weapons ![Weapons makers ranging from Boeing to Lockheed Martin are working on new anti-drone technologies — everything from laser cannons to heat-seeking missiles.]() *\Image: Saab/Tag Hartman-Simkins\* ## Drone Defense The proliferation of cheap drones has given [terrorists]() deadly new weapons, [pranksters]() the tools to shut down major airports, and [criminals]() the ability to scope out potential targets. In response, according to a [new story]() by the *Wall Street Journal*, weapon makers ranging from Boeing to Lockheed Martin are working on new anti-drone technologies — and they include laser cannons and heat-seeking missiles. ## Gold Rush Drones are deeply destabilizing because they're relatively cheap, opening up strange new frontiers in security and warfare. According to the *WSJ*, experts estimate that anti-drone weapons will top an alarming $1.2 billion in sales next year — and $1.5 billion by 2021. "Everyone is so preoccupied by this threat they are willing to give anything a try," Arthur Holland Michel, the co-director of Bard College's Center for the Study of the Drone, told the *WSJ*. ## Buzz Off Lockheed Martin is working on missiles to shoot down drones, according to the *WSJ,* and Boeing and a Chinese defense contractor are both developing laser cannons to blast them out of the sky. A company in Singapore is working on a handheld gun that jams drones' radio signals to take them down, the *WSJ* reports, and Diehl Defence is building a system that uses high-energy electronic bursts to frizzle up drones' circuits from a distance. Drones are "starting to become a really big problem," Swedish defense company Saab AB executive Hakan Buskhe told the *WSJ*. Technology to remove drones from the sky "is something we are in discussion on with many countries and authorities around the globe." **READ MORE:** [Weapon Makers Declare War on Drones]() \[*The Wall Street Journal*\] **More on drone warfare:** [The Maker of AK-47 Rifles Just Unveiled a “Suicide Drone”]() ## Author I'm responsible for editing, assigning, and scouting at Futurism, as well as occasionally writing for the site. That work involves keeping an eye on a wide range of narratives and issues, but over the past few years I've become increasingly interested in how AI is shaping the future of media, the web, and information itself. My day-to-day often involves collaborating on reporting and commentary projects bylined by my colleagues, but I try to find time to do my own reporting as well; stories I've broken for Futurism have been cited by publications including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the New Yorker, Wired, Ars Technica, New York Magazine, the Columbia Journalism Review, Bloomberg, and more. I grew up in Southern Vermont and attended Vanderbilt University. Prior to Futurism, I contributed to outlets including the Boston Globe, Vice, Wired, Slate, the Atlantic, the Outline, Ars Technica and more, and did stints in farming and food service. I currently live in Brooklyn, New York, and in my free time I enjoy pinball, word games, cycling, running, and music production. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()