The threat of drone attacks against commercial maritime traffic has fundamentally reshaped global shipping risk and fuelled new solutions to protect assets at sea.
Air defence systems that can be used to steer giant tankers through congested waterways without disrupting complex navigation tools are fighting to keep pace with renewed aerial hostilities.
Drone attacks have become an increasing danger to the shipping industry and global trade, particularly in the Arabian Gulf and the Black Sea.
Offshore energy infrastructure, including undersea cables and wind farms, has also been attacked to disrupt the flow of fuel.
While some defence systems detect hostile drones through radar and cameras, others aim either to disrupt navigation systems to bring down aerial threats or to take complete control.
Unpredictable weather, rough seas and saltwater corrosion add to the challenge of tech companies developing the latest protection for tankers and vulnerable crews.
Companies such as D-Fend Solutions said demand had surged for the latest protection available to ship owners to protect maritime assets.
“Commercial ships are facing asymmetric airborne and surface drone threats that can be deployed at low cost to target multimillion-dollar vessels, volatile cargo, and critical global supply chains,” said Jeffrey Starr, chief marketing officer of counter-drone experts D-Fend Solutions.
“Because merchant ships are built for efficient transport rather than warfare, this asymmetry creates an urgent operational challenge.
“We have seen a clear increase in demand and inquiries across the maritime sector. This interest is particularly pronounced among owners and operators of tankers, carriers and offshore energy infrastructure, where the margin for error is zero.
“What began as a tactical concern during acute incident spikes has matured into a structural demand for permanent, non-disruptive counter-drone protection.”
Ship security
Shipping operators, port authorities and maritime security professionals require fundamental components to secure a vessel.
Because commercial vessels and active ports rely constantly on navigation, vessel tracking and bridge communications, solutions that interfere with their operations cannot be used.
Meanwhile, operators of tankers and hazardous-cargo vessels cannot accept counter-measures such as firing projectiles or explosives that could detonate near volatile cargo or port storages.
That leaves methods that safely neutralise airborne threats without physical destruction or falling debris.
“The escalation of regional security incidents has driven a decisive mindset shift,” Mr Starr told The National.
“Counter-drone defence is no longer viewed as an optional contingency or an exotic technology reserved for naval warships. It is increasingly evaluated by fleet operators, risk managers and maritime insurers as an essential baseline component of vessel safety and risk mitigation.”
D-Fend Solutions has developed software-driven precision technology through its EnforceAir system.
Rather than relying on high-power noise or physical force, the system passively scans incoming drone communications to identify approaching hostiles.
The system then takes control of a rogue drone's command link, breaking the pilot's control and safely landing the drone along a predetermined flight path.
The methods are becoming a familiar protective shield for tankers and crew trapped at sea.
Marss is a UK defence and technology company specialising in AI-enabled systems to counter drone threats.
The company recently signed a £370 million ($496.7 million) contract to deliver national counter-drone measures in Kuwait, which has been hit by dozens of drone and missile strikes since March.
Johannes Pinl, chief executive Jeffrey Starr of Marss, told the European Defence Review that systems would be introduced in the next two years.
"Countering drones and aerial threats is not about any single system," Mr Pinl said. “It is about an intelligent, layered architecture that detects, decides and defeats within seconds, and Marss has built exactly that.”
