Technology to combat suspicious drone activity on the ground in Utah

PLEASANT GROVE, Utah – As concerns about unmanned aerial systems, or drones, grow across the country and in sensitive areas, peace of mind should come from knowing there is already technology ready to combat them.

Pleasant Grove is home to Fortem Technologies, a company that continues to grow as its employees work on a product specialized in combating drones.

“We have begun developing miniaturized radar systems,” said Adam Robertson, Fortem’s chief technology officer. “It’s a very sophisticated radar and we put it on a drone and use it to see if we can hunt other drones?

Robertson helped found Fortem in Utah County more than eight years ago.

“We need something really agile and really fast,” he explained. “So we started with this drone and then we tried someone else’s drone and I told the team we’re not going to build drones, a lot of people build drones and my team said, ‘Adam, we know we’re drones can build’ and then a few of my engineers developed what became our Drone Hunter F700. This model is designed to be incredibly maneuverable and very fast.”

The technology is manufactured in Pleasant Grove and is ready to be shipped worldwide.

“We shipped a lot to Japan. We shipped a lot to Ukraine and the US Department of Defense, so of course we can’t talk much about that. We were in the Middle East. “We now have systems in very hot deserts and also extremely cold climates,” Robertson shared. “This gives you an idea of ​​our global presence. We’re in a lot of places.”

What is the next step in dealing with the large number of drone sightings?

What is the next step in dealing with the large number of drone sightings?

Fortem gave FOX 13 News a look into its operations, with some sensitive materials hidden from view.

“This makes it possible to detect a small drone that you might give as a Christmas present at a distance of about two and a half kilometers. You can’t even see with your eyes,” Robertson said of one of the company’s drone products. “So this is what we call the detection part. So we have to identify the threat, track it, identify it as a threat and then we want to defeat the threat.”

The defense products can fire a so-called netgun to disable and capture a targeted drone.

“It sends out four metal projectiles that expand the web. This network is really big. It’s about 3 by 3 meters and wraps around the target, tying them up, a bit like Spider-Man. We have it,” Robertson explains.

Asked whether Fortem’s technology was currently involved in operations on the East Coast or in other key parts of the world, Robertson admitted he couldn’t say much.

“We’re in the security business, so as part of what we do we keep our mouths pretty tight-lipped,” he said. “There are so many things I would like to talk about.