Date: 24th December, 2018

After a spike of questions following the recent drone-incidents at Gatwick airport last week we will share our vision on the C-UAS market based on over 5 years’ experience in this evolving market.

YouTube video previous drone incident at Gatwick Airport (2017) and effects on air traffic

Drones for good
Let’s start off that we are convinced that drones have been and will have a positive effect on our way of live. There are more ways to use drones for good than for bad. 95% of the drone users have good intentions. It is the 5% of drone users with bad intentions that could pose problems.

Silver Bullet
“There is NO silver bullet in countering drones” (to quote Siete Hamminga, Managing Director at Robin Radar Systems). A site specific tailored combination of C-UAS solutions is the way to approach the hostile drone problem. In some situations a jamming solution can be the most effective way, in other situations a netgun or bird of prey (or combination of solutions) is the best way to counter a hostile drone. Tailoring solutions is the way to go.

The C-UAS Intelligence Centre
A shared focal point on C-UAS Intelligence is something that Guard From Above has been advocating for for years. A one-stop-shop on drone incidents where information is enriched to actionable intelligence to be used by government agencies to continuously modify their TTP’s (Tactics, Techniques and Procedures) to keep their assets safe and secure.

There are a number of real experts on the subject on drone threats. They have been working on this specific threat for a number of years, with an intrinsic motivation to
protect our society against malicious use of drones. In the past we have talked on multiple occasions on partnering up to form a C-UAS Intelligence Center.

The C-UAS government “hurdle”
We have spoken to a lot of government entities in the past 5 years that we have been in this business.(military, police and other units) Sadly only a few understand the real threat hostile drones can pose but only a few are willing to take the next step and “invest” in a solution. There is a lot of information requests but very limited decision making. This is also what we get back from our partners in the market, “we” (as guard From Above) see each other as partners and not competitors, all C-UAS companies share the same mission:

Keeping our clients airspace drone-free!

When government entities start making steps in more buying and deploying solutions, only then will the C-UAS market mature and evolve.

The closed intelligence-loop is also not helping the C-UAS market. The government wants to receive all the information on drone incidents and modus operandi but doesn’t
want to share their information.

Paying for the enriched and interpreted information to MO’s(Modus Operandi) is also not possible. “Why pay a “commercial” company for “intelligence” can’t a government entity doe this better?” I should hope so but in most cases there is no (or a limited) focus on C- UAS, this is just a “side-job” were for a commercial C-UAS specialist this is his(or hers) day (and night) job. What you focus on you get better at. (The 10.000 hour-rule)

There are a number of real C-UAS specialists who would love to be able to focus on this subject through the C-UAS Intelligence Centre. Maybe in 2019 this could finally be the right momentum to stop talking on C-UAS and start doing before we really regret that we as a society didn’t take this problem seriously.

The C-UAS Framework
Collecting information on drone incidents and interpreting this info into MO’s (Modus Operandi) is what we and our partner Hex Horus have been doing for a number of
years. Based on our shared knowledge on the subject we are developing The C-UAS Framework, an ever- evolving tool to help our clients on the basics on countering drones. No, there is NO silver bullit but there are some basics that are always the same.

Just a sneak peak:

Sort of “attacker”

1. Hobbyist
2. Journalist
3. Activist
4. Criminal
5. Terrorist

Each attacker has a specific motivation and risk and way to counter and combine and scale countermeasures.

Classification of the “threat” and developing tailored SOP’s
Based on the motivation and intentions the MO can be different and therefore this will also affect how to prevent (first phase) or mitigate (second phase) an drone incursion. (Prediction on deployment locations and developing SOP’s (Standard Operating Procedures) to prevent and mitigate)

MO’s will keep evolving and so will the C-UAS framework.

Hex Horus and Guard From Above have joined forces in 2017 and are developing and moderating the C-UAS Framework together for and with our government clients.

Hex Horus also provides tailor made training packages on different knowledge base for client staff to inform and deal with drone incidents.

Additionally we provide site-specific threat analysis and advice on the best combination of C-UAS procedures (preventing and mitigating) and services. Deploying tiger-teams
with different sorts of C-UAS solutions on client sites for specific periods by Hex Horus is also possible.

My wish for 2019:
Thinking on what we can do tomorrow is better than looking back on what we should
have done when the next big drone incident will manifest.

And yes our C-UAS bird of prey program can be a part of the solution but when combined with other C-UAS solutions. Start to invest in ways to really understand the
threat, THIS should be your first step!

I hope 2019 is the year that The C-UAS Intelligence Centre will finally see the light of day.

The C-UAS Intelligence Centre-
From information to actionable intelligence…..

Safe skies!

Sjoerd Hoogendoorn
CEO and Founder Guard From Above

Date: 29th-30th January

Date: September 14th 2017

This year we have a New batch of birds in training for our international clients in the Defense and Law enforcement Industry.

Date: September 12-15th 2017

Guard From Above will attend the DSEI 2017 to meet our current and new clients, Industry partners and explorer opportunities to work together on innovating in the Defense and Security Industry 

Defence and Security Equipment International (DSEI) is the world leading event that brings together the global defence and security sector to innovate and share knowledge. DSEI represents the entire supply chain on an unrivalled scale.

Attend DSEI 2017 to develop relationships with an audience of over 34,000 including Defence Ministers, International Military and Armed Forces, key industry players and private sector companies. https://www.dsei.co.uk

Date: April 18th 2017

After a pre-assesment of the candidates a number of government candidates have started the 2017 class in our Bird handler Training Program.

In our Bird handler Training Program we are training staff from (mostly) international law enforcement, miltary units en Private security companies to work with GFA-certfified birds of prey and to deploy them operationally to counter unwanted drones. The training program is based on over 25 years of training birds of prey and contains theoretical class sessions, practical sessions working with our birds and group sessions.

This 20-day training program will take place in The Netherlands and in most cases we will also do some additional on the job training on-site with our clients. On special request we also can provide custom made training programs for our clients.

Good luck to this new class of Bird Handlers in training!

Date: 18-26th March 2017

In cooperation with The Hague Security Delta (HSD), InnovationQuarter, BWTech and the American Embassy to the Netherlands, the Maryland Department of Commerce was launching the Soft Landing Program Security Technologies NL/USA (Maryland). This program allows dutch small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to have the ability to establish new customers and partnerships in the US market, possibly leading to a permanent presence in the United States.

The Soft Landing Program is designed to assist companies to carry out international business development in a new foreign market through support and incubation facilities for a trial period between 1st of January and 31st of March 2017. This allows companies to establish customers and partnerships, leading to the possibility of establishing a permanent presence in the foreign market of either Maryland (greater Washington DC) or West Holland (Province of Zuid-Holland).

Guard From Above traveled to the US from the 18th- 26th of March in this program to meet with current and future customers and to explore partnerships. There were several very good high-level meetings and some time to also explore ways to work together with our fellow Soft-landing company and C-UAV detection specialist Robin Radar.

Date: 19-23 Februari  2017

A partner of Guard From Above was present at the IDEX 2017 show in Abu Dahbi UAE. A lot of interesting contacts were made and future collaborations are being explored.

Date: Februari  2017

In 2016 a delegation of the French Police and Military visited Guard From Above. In Februari 2017 they made the news that they also have started to train birds of prey to intercept hostile drones. Great Idea guys!

Date: December  2016

In December a number of international Law enforcement officials visited Guard From Above to explore ways to work together on countering drones.

Date: December 9th 2016

December 9^th Guard From Above was invited by the Dutch National Police to expo at the 2016 Innovation day at the Police Academy.

Besides the expo, Guard From Above also demonstrated several drone interceptions with the Eagles from Guard From Above and one of the Police Eagles in training with Guard From Above.

Date: October 22th 2016

October 22th Guard From Above was invited by The Ministry of Security and Justice to expo at the event Outside IN. Over a 1000 participants form science, public and private organisations with a passion for security came together to experience innovation and to explore ways to collaborate.

Date: October 11th 2016

October 11th Guard From Above was invited by the Dutch Law enforcement community to expo at an event were special innovative new security solutions were presented.

Date: Oktober 1st 2016

Guard From Above was present at the Safety-day for Team Citycentre/Amstel of the Dutch National Police in Amsterdam.

Date: September 9th 2016

The Dutch National Police is the first government agency in the world to deploy Birds of prey trained by Guard From Above. After succesfully completing extensive testing the Dutch Police has bought a number of Birds of prey that will be trained by Guard From Above. Also Guard From Above will train a select number of Police officers to become a GFA-Certified Birdhandler.

Friday september 9th the Dutch National Police and Guard From Above demonstrated a drone-interception in an urban scenario.

Source(dutch): https://www.politie.nl/nieuws/2016/september/13/politie-traint-roofvogels-om-drones-te-onderscheppen.html

Date: September 9th 2016

On Wednesday september 14th 2016 the Ministry of Security and Justice in collaboration with Twente Safety and Security and the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) has organized the Drones Innovation Day. Drones that deliver explosives, gather information on locations where this is not wanted, disrupt airtraffic or emergency services and disrupt public order. These are some of the negative examples of drone use. Countering this new and growing threat asks for innovative solutions. The Drones Innovation day was a event to see what current and future ways are available to Detect, classify, intercept and to neutralize hostile drones. Guard From Above succesfully demonstrated an interception of a DJI Phantom drone at this event. Also new collaborations were formed between the several C-UAV companies present at this event.

Date: July 1st 2016

Date: June 9th 2016

During this event the Dutch military challenged private companies and SME to help develop safer future military compounds abroad. GFA has written a project proposal to help the Dutch Military to protect our men and women against hostile drones at compounds abroad.

Date: May 30th 2016

Date: May 24th 2016

A couple of weeks ago we had cameracrew from CBS News and the New York Times as our guest during a GFA-demo. There was a lot of wind this day but in the end the results were great! Our birds performed perfect!

Full article: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/dutch-police- use-eagles- to-take- down-illegal- drones/

Date: April 14th 2016

Guard From Above was attending and Pitching at the Experience Day Drone counter Measures. April 14th was about new technologies that meet the challenge of detecting and eliminating small drones. A one day event focussed on drone countermeasures. The spirit was to see actual demonstrations besides PowerPoint’s. Let’s fly, detect and catch drones for real.

Location: Woensdrecht Air Base

Attending where, those responsible for securing high profile evenor critical infrastructures like airports, harbours, military compounds, prisons, industrial sites, electricity companies or nuclear power plants. This event was initiated by Securitas Belgium and Robin Radar Systems from the Netherlands and supported by various other companies who demonstrate their techniques. The event was facilitated by the Royal Netherlands Air Force and Business Park Aviolanda.

Great day, with near perfect weather. A lot of great different solutions and great spirit of all participants on the ambition on keeping our clients airspace dronesafe.

Date: April 9th 2016

Date: April 5th 2016

The BBC item on the Demonstration on March 8th (including video), This video was part of a larger item on BBC CLICK on Drones and Counter drone measures.

Full article: http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-35921123

Click – 26/03/2016
In a drone special, the team race drones and then take them down with the help of an eagle. Plus learning how to program a BBC Microbit. http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b075by83/click-26032016

Date: March 8th 2016

The BBC item on the Demonstration on March 7th (including video)

Read here the full article on bbc.com

Date: March 7th 2016

Monday afternoon March 7th our customer and partner the Dutch National Police organized a 2nd Pressday with the international press. We had BBC, French television, NOS, ANP, Hart van Nederland(Dutch TV news show) and Kidsweek as our guests at one of our outdoor traininglocations at Airport Valkenburg. We had a nice day of filming, interviewing and of course interceptions of hostile drones…

Proud of our birds and our team!

Some of the footage and items:

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-35750816

http://www.hartvannederland.nl/top-nieuws/2016/roofvogels-getraind-om-drones-te-grijpen/

http://www.ad.nl/ad/nl/1421/Nederland/video/detail/4258578/Politie-zet-roofvogels-in-tegen-drones.dhtml

http://www.ad.nl/ad/nl/1421/Nederland/video/detail/4258586/Dierenwelzijn-voorop-bij-inzet-roofvogels-tegen-drones.dhtml

Date: February 25th 2016

To guarantee the high level of quality of our services we are working on the Guard From Above: GFA Certificate. The GFA Certificate will be based on our 25 years’ experience working with birds of prey. Also we are taking in the experience we have had developping our GFA concept. Animal welfare is very important for us, this will be a key part of the GFA Certification. The GFA Certificate will be used on our Bird training program, on the Birdhandler training program, extra Protective measures, equipment, Bird quarters and caretaking. In the course of 2016 we will be further implementing the GFA Certificate.

Date: February 2, 3 and 4th 2016

Tuesday 2nd, wednesday 3th and thursday 4th Guard From Above was exhibiting at the The Unmanned Systems Expo(TUSEXPO) http://tusexpo.com/. Highlight for us was being asked to be part of the Opening of the Expo. At the TUSEXPO we had a lot of press attention and questions from visitors who had seen us on tv and the internet. Also we received several questions from new possible clients about our services.

This week was a very busy but important week for us. We would like to thank our GFA-team and the people that have been working hard behind the screens to help us to make our exhibit at the TUSEXPO a succes!

Thanks guys(and girls)

Date: February 1th 2016

Monday the 1st of februari there was a lot attention of the international press with tv, radio and interview request from al over the world. We were expecting a lot of interest from the press but not as much as we had this week! Amongst others: Germany, England, Norway, Denmark, France, Suisse, Russia, Brazil, Canada, New Zealand, United States, Japan, China, India.

We are trying to answer alle emails and phonecalls as quickly and good as possible. We are gathering all request for tv/documentary items and will make a selection on wich ones we are going to talk to further.

Read the articles.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/feb/01/dutch-netherlands-police-birds-unauthorized-drones

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/feb/2/eagles-vs-drones-dutch-police-eye-birds-to-prey-on/

Date: January 31th 2016

Sunday the 31st of januari 2016 the Dutch national television(NOS) had a broadcast of a newsitem about contra-drone solutions featuring our Bird of Prey solution to intercept hostile drones in the six and eight O’clock news. At the time of the broadcast, the Dutch Police and the NOS news agency put the newsitem on their.

Websites:

https://www.politie.nl/nieuws/2016/januari/31/wereldprimeur-politie-zet-roofvogels-in-om-drones-uit-te-schakelen.html

http://nos.nl/artikel/2084071-hoe-voorkom-je-aanslagen-met-drones-met-een-roofvogel.html

At the same time Guard From Above send out a Press-release and the Guard From Above website and Youtube video went online!

Friday the 29th of januari 2016 the Dutch national television(NOS) was attending one of your trainingsessions in our innovation project with the Dutch Police. Due to heavy winds it was not possible to fly with drones outside on this day so we were forced to film in one of our indoor trainingfacilities.