Kelvin Hughes said it would be launching its new drone detection system at the Home Office Security & Policing exhibition. The SMS-D is the first integrated, medium-range, radar-based surveillance system designed for the detection and tracking of small aerial targets.

Whether used maliciously or just irresponsibly, drones represent a new threat to security. The SMS-D tracks the real-time position of these aerial targets, including those that could be used to attack infrastructure, vehicles or individuals as well as those that may be used for hostile observation or smuggling. Based on the company’s solidstate SharpEye X-Band radar transceiver technology, the system is able to detect drones up to 1.5 km away.

Highly cost-effective, the SMS-D provides continuously updated bearing, distance, altitude and velocity data. The latest addition to the Kelvin Hughes SMS (Single Mast Solution) range, it identifies targets automatically through its video tracking system, ensuring that any remedial or defensive action can be implemented without delay.

The SMS is designed to accommodate a combination of radar, optical and thermal imaging devices in order to provide 3600 surveillance of any site perimeter or border as well as providing early detection of any drones or other UAVs. The SMS can be fixed to a permanent structure or mounted on a vehicle to further extend the envelope of detection.

Jonathan Field, Security Systems and Sensors Director for Kelvin Hughes, commented: “We’re very much looking forward to the official launch of the SMS-D. The first of its kind, the system is a fully integrated package of radar and electro-optic sensors and software providing a sophisticated yet highly cost-effective response to the increasing threat of drone incursion. And it’s yet another example of our long-proven record of world-leading innovation.”