New anti-drone gun ditches the backpack, wires

The newest version of the anti-drone gun DroneDefender is smaller but packs the same punch.

Battelle announced the DroneDefender Version 2 at the Air Force Association’s Air, Space & Cyber conference on Monday.

The device, which disrupts the link between an unmanned aerial system and its pilot, used to require a backpack to power it.

The company received feedback from customers who didn’t want the backpack and its associated wires, according to Battelle’s Kimberly Stambler.

Stambler, business development and sales leader for the company’s mission and defense technologies division, told Air Force Times on Monday that version two of the system is fully integrated — which means no backpack or wires are required.

“Everything is self-contained,” she said.

Similar to the previous version, it weighs about 15 pounds but is a couple of inches shorter.

This version is a little more balanced and easier to move around, she said.

The company sold about 300 of the original version across the Defense Department.

Click here for more from the Air Force Association’s annual conference.

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