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Swiss authorities have added another security measure for this year's World Economic Forum in Davos: anti-drone guns. Bloomberg has spotted local police preparing HP 47 Counter UAV Jammers to make sure no unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) gets too close to the venue, whether it's sent by a spy organization or just a nosy onlooker. That's the same jammer the German police used in Berlin when President Obama visited the country. The publication says authorities decided to bring in an anti-drone technology, because people with malicious intent could use UAVs to monitor security positions or even to launch attacks.
WEF spokesman Georg Schmitt explained:
"While drones have great potential, they have -- just as every new technology or aspect of the Fourth Industrial Revolution -- also a potential downside. The forum takes the safety and security of its participants seriously. It is therefore normal that we take any potential issue into account and prepare for it."
The HP 47 can block drones up to 1,000 feet away from sending data, including video feeds, back to their operators. It can also disable operators' remote access to their UAVs, as well as trap the machines within an invisible fence. Once the drones are trapped, authorities could either capture them with a net or shoot them down with the help of snipers.
A consulting firm told Bloomberg that it's much too early to estimate the size of the anti-drone market, but jamming devices are clearly becoming more popular as drones become more common. Both the military and private companies are developing their own guns and jammers. The Dutch National Police, however, resorted to training eagles to take down drones during emergencies.