Turkish engineer develops new solutions for 'flying agents'

Stating that they have developed drone detection and blocking system, Aslan emphasized that they closely follow the developments and needs in the field. Stating that their teams exist wherever their products go, and this makes significant contributions to them, Aslan said, “We have seen the types of threats around here. We had the opportunity to analyze how these systems are used and where they are insufficient in the real battlefield.”

Aslan stated that with new technologies, a multimillion-dollar tank or armored vehicle could be damaged and destroyed by a product of 3-5 thousand dollars, and the main thing is the possible loss of life and the psychological superiority of the other party.

Pointing out that they have undertaken the task of preventing these attacks in every area they are in, Aslan emphasized that this is a heavy responsibility. Sharing the dialogue between him and a commander, Aslan said:

“One day a very high-ranking commander of ours said, “Please, your systems have to work well because many people go to bed trusting you.” This sentence has put 5 times more responsibility on me. We are always aware of that. People go to bed in peace because they trust us, trust these systems. At least they are convinced that nothing would come by the air and focus on other things. We provide protection in hundreds of locations at home and abroad, in 81 cities of Türkiye all of which are very critical regions. Thankfully, no attacks have occurred in any of them. There were many attempts, but they were blocked to attack in all attempts. No one penetrated our security shield. It is because we are improving our systems every day. Since we have installed our system to make modifications by the software, when there is a threat or a new threat emerges, it takes only a few days to find a suitable solution to that. We are able to immediately update it.”

Stronger response to changing threats

Fatih Aslan stated that the prototype of the newly developed  ILTER J350 Drone Detection and Blocking System was produced, field tests were completed and mass production would start as soon as possible.

Stating that they increased the signal output power from 250 watts to 350 watts with the J350 model, Arslan said that the interference and deception capability of the system has been improved.

Drone will distinguish friends from enemies

Stating that one of the major problems in the field is that friendly elements are adversely affected by blocking enemy elements, Arslan gave the following information about the solution they developed for this: “There is this fact that when we protect ourselves from the enemy, our elements also fly. While these systems are interfered, although our systems are durable in this regard, at some point they lose their effectiveness against interference, resulting in other consequences. We have a product for that problem, and we have developed a new product where we can make the distinction between friends and enemies better.

The R&D study of the product is completed, the first prototype has been produced, the qualification is about to be completed. It is a protocol-based product. You can introduce threats to this product. There are already hundreds of products from its own library. But when we introduce the products in our own inventory, it is capable of distinguishing between friends and enemies when it flies in the air. We can identify it because it works on a protocol basis. It is able to recognize threats other than that, if any.  You can track 250 targets at the same time and take down whichever you want. It is the first system we have built in Türkiye. We hear that there are similar systems, but our solution is a system developed entirely with domestic resources. We plan to include this in the inventory soon.”

“ILTER can’t miss it once caught”

Aslan said that the problems would be solved for the users who are not able to perform a flight due to interference although they have a flight permit, and added “Some hobbyists are not allowed to fly despite obtaining permission from the governorship. It is because we have a critical facility nearby. Our systems will completely interfere once they catch it. We have installed the infrastructure for this system. If there is a permit obtained and the authority using the system, which may be the governor's office, gendarmerie, or police, has received this permit, the drone can be flown over the area of permit when the user enters the drone’s ID, flight time and duration in the interface. It will fall again when it is outside of its area.”

Aslan said that users that have drones falling down have come up with a slogan “ILTER can’t miss it once caught”, and reported that they have found such a solution to enable those who have a permit to fly.

Mobile units are also protected by the mobile solution

Noting that their solutions for the protection of mobile units on the battlefield are used in cross-border operations, as well as in countries such as Azerbaijan and Sudan, Aslan said that their systems, which successfully operate up to 130 kilometers per hour with İLTER Mobil, are included in the inventory of various countries.

Stating that they are also working on counter-interference systems, especially in cross-border operations, and that the resulting product would be included in the inventory in 2024, Fatih Aslan said:
“For 100 kilometers, we will take any of our elements under interference to the right position with 1 percent error via the artificial intelligence. The product is finished, field tests have been completed. It is ready for mass production, we will start mass production from January. We are planning to include it in the inventory in March or April. Once it is in the inventory, we’ll make sure our own systems can do their job safely.”

Stating that in addition to product development, they also strive to increase qualified human resources in this field, Aslan stated that they have employed engineer candidates to contribute their development over 4-5 years.