Most sites need more than one kind of drone detection. Remote ID identifies drones that broadcast it, RF detection hears the radio link between a drone and its controller, radar sees the drone itself, and cameras confirm what it is. Each one has blind spots the others cover, so the right answer is usually a mix, chosen around your site and the drones you are most worried about.
This guide explains what each sensor sees, where it falls short, and how to decide what your site needs.
Start with the question, not the sensor
Before comparing technologies, be clear about what you need to know when a drone appears. For most sites it comes down to four questions:
- Is there a drone, and where is it?
- Is it allowed to be there?
- Where is the person flying it?
- What is it, and what is it carrying?
The National Protective Security Authority (NPSA) makes the same point in its counter-drone guidance for site security managers: technology should follow a realistic assessment of the risk to your site, not lead it. It describes what a technical system is for: early warning, rapid tasking of a response, information for decisions, and evidence afterwards.
No single sensor answers all four questions every time. That is the main reason to understand what each one does.
Remote ID: who is flying, if they are broadcasting
Remote ID is a broadcast a drone sends while it flies. According to the Civil Aviation Authority, it carries the Operator ID, the aircraft's serial number, its position, height and route, the remote pilot's position, and emergency status such as a low battery. A Remote ID receiver on your site reads that broadcast.
What it is good at. It identifies cooperative drones precisely and cheaply, and it can show where the pilot is standing. A drone broadcasting Remote ID is rarely a false alarm.
Where it falls short. It only works when a drone broadcasts. Older drones, home-built drones and anyone who switches it off send nothing, and someone flying to cause harm is the least likely to broadcast. Remote ID is an excellent first layer and a poor only layer. Our guide to UK drone law covers which drones are expected to broadcast it.
RF detection: hearing the link
Most drones talk to their controller over radio. RF (radio frequency) detectors listen for those links and recognise the signal patterns of known drone types.
What it is good at. RF detection is passive: it sends nothing, so it can run quietly around the clock. It can give early warning, sometimes before a drone has taken off, and some systems can estimate where the controller is or which model is flying.
Where it falls short. A drone flying a pre-programmed route with its radio link quiet may not be heard. Busy radio environments, such as city centres and large venues, make detection harder. And recognising a signal pattern depends on the detector knowing it, so unusual or modified drones can be missed.
Radar: seeing the drone itself
Drone detection radar transmits and measures what reflects back. It does not depend on anything the drone sends, so it can see drones that broadcast nothing and keep radio silence.
What it is good at. Tracking non-cooperative drones, day or night, and giving a continuous position over time. On open sites with clear sightlines it can cover a wide area.
Where it falls short. Small drones reflect very little, and birds, vehicles and clutter can look similar. Radar tells you something is there and where it is going, but not what it is or who is flying it. It needs another source to confirm what it has found. Because radar transmits, ask any supplier how their radar is licensed to operate.
EO/IR cameras: confirming what it is
Electro-optical (daylight) and infrared (thermal) cameras give an operator a picture of the object.
What it is good at. Confirming that a track really is a drone, seeing what it is carrying, and producing images that are easy to understand in a report.
Where it falls short. A camera has a narrow field of view and has to be pointed. On its own, it is unlikely to find a drone in a large area of sky. Cameras work best when another sensor tells them where to look. They also capture people and vehicles, so think about privacy before you install them.
Why most sites combine sensors
Put the four side by side and the pattern is clear. Remote ID and RF tell you about drones that communicate. Radar tells you about drones that don't. Cameras tell you what you are actually looking at. Each covers a gap in the others.
Combining them brings its own problem. Four sensors can raise four alerts for one drone, and a team on shift has to work out whether they are seeing one drone or four. That is why the sensors matter less than what joins them up. Wardglass fuses detections from every source into one track per drone, so your team sees a drone, not a dozen alerts, and it shows coverage gaps rather than hiding them.
Choosing the mix for your site
There is no universal kit list. These questions will narrow it down quickly:
- What does the site look like? A large, open site with long sightlines suits radar. A dense urban site, with buildings and radio noise, changes what RF and radar can do.
- What are you worried about? Careless hobby flights are mostly cooperative and easier to identify. A deliberate threat is more likely to be radio-silent, which points to radar alongside RF.
- Who is watching? A site with a staffed control room can work with more alerts and camera feeds than a remote site with an on-call team. Fewer, better alerts matter more when nobody is watching a screen full time.
- What do you already own? Many sites already have cameras, and some have RF detectors. These can often be part of the answer. Uavity works with sensors you already have as well as our own, and brings them into one operating picture. See Sensors for the types we connect.
- What happens after a detection? If you need evidence for police or insurers, plan for cameras and for records you can hand over.
Write the answers down before you speak to any supplier. They are the start of what NPSA calls an operational requirement, and they make it much easier to judge whether a proposal fits your site or just lists equipment.
What to do next
Map your site, list the drones you are most concerned about, and note who would respond and how. Then look at which of the four sensor types answer the questions that matter to you, and where you would need two of them to be confident.
If you'd like to see how this works for a site like yours, talk to us.