Aug 26, 2025

US12398982 - Incoming threat protection system and method of using same

The present invention relates to threat protection, in particular a system and method providing active protection using at least one UAV, e.g., drone, to neutralize an incoming aerial or ground threat or diminish or prevent damage caused, directly or indirectly, from the incoming threat.

Assignee: IMI SYSTEMS LTD.
Inventors: Yinon Degani, Arye Raybee, Gil Sasi Segev
Filing date: 2021-05-24

The invention describes a system utilizing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to autonomously detect and neutralize incoming aerial threats based on alerts from a threat alerting system. Upon receiving an alert signal, the UAVs self-launch and navigate towards the threat without requiring further communication with ground control.

Claim 1

A method of encountering at least one incoming aerial threat, the method comprising: detecting the at least one incoming aerial threat by at least one threat alerting system (TAS); receiving, by at least one non-active UAV or a UAV at a resting ground position, at least one alert signal generated by the at least one threat alerting system (TAS) in response to the detecting of the at least one incoming aerial threat; the at least one alert signal consisting of an alert of existence of the at least one incoming aerial threat with no further data regarding the at least one incoming aerial threat; in response to receiving by said at least one non-active UAV or the UAV at a resting ground position the at least one alert signal, the at least one non-active UAV is self-launched at an initial direction of the incoming threat and thereafter fully autonomously self-navigates to encounter the at least one threat, wherein the UAV comprises at least one sensor navigation unit and a flight control system to self-navigate to encounter the at least one incoming aerial threat without any communication with a ground control once the UAV is launched; wherein the at least one sensor navigation unit directs the flight control system of the at least one UAV toward the at least one incoming aerial threat, and encountering the at least one incoming aerial threat by the at least one UAV. detecting the at least one incoming aerial threat by at least one threat alerting system (TAS); receiving, by at least one non-active UAV or a UAV at a resting ground position, at least one alert signal generated by the at least one threat alerting system (TAS) in response to the detecting of the at least one incoming aerial threat; the at least one alert signal consisting of an alert of existence of the at least one incoming aerial threat with no further data regarding the at least one incoming aerial threat; in response to receiving by said at least one non-active UAV or the UAV at a resting ground position the at least one alert signal, the at least one non-active UAV is self-launched at an initial direction of the incoming threat and thereafter fully autonomously self-navigates to encounter the at least one threat, wherein the UAV comprises at least one sensor navigation unit and a flight control system to self-navigate to encounter the at least one incoming aerial threat without any communication with a ground control once the UAV is launched; wherein the at least one sensor navigation unit directs the flight control system of the at least one UAV toward the at least one incoming aerial threat, and encountering the at least one incoming aerial threat by the at least one UAV.

Google Patents

https://patents.google.com/patent/US12398982

USPTO PDF

https://image-ppubs.uspto.gov/dirsearch-public/print/downloadPdf/12398982