After three years, “RADARDRONE,” the technological project aimed at developing interception systems for remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) using easily accessible commercial radar systems, comes to an end. The initiative was carried out by the engineers, technicians, and technologists of the INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Cagliari and the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering (DIEE) of the University of Cagliari, thanks to the award of a “top-down cluster” call funded by Sardegna Ricerche. “We are very satisfied,” emphasizes Maria Assunta Serra, extraordinary commissioner of the funding body, “with the success of this project and we are confident that the research centers and companies involved will reap the benefits, both in terms of acquired skills and access to a competitive market like aerospace. This is, after all, the spirit of the cluster projects we promote and fund with POR FESR funds.”
“The project,” states the coordinator of RADARDRONE, Tonino Pisanu from INAF Cagliari, “fits into the philosophy that INAF has successfully adopted in recent years, which is to make all the technology we can develop for the Sardinia Radio Telescope in San Basilio available to local businesses through targeted and pragmatic collaborations.” “When it comes to high technology,” emphasizes the Director of INAF-OAC Emilio Molinari, “INAF uses the best of its human and scientific resources to return new opportunities for knowledge and well-being to society.”
For UNICA as well, the RADARDRONE project was an opportunity to delve into topics related to RADAR and applications both in research and teaching. Giorgio Montisci, responsible for the project at Unica, notes that starting from the last academic year, the curriculum of the Master’s Degree in Electronic Engineering has been modified to provide students with basic knowledge of RADAR and their main applications, introducing the course “Microwave System for Remote Sensing.” In the course “Reliability of Electronic Components,” taught by Prof. Giovanna Mura, laboratory exercises on the project’s topics were also organized.
The collaborations of the RADARDRONE project have indeed grown along with technological developments even beyond the numerous initial partnerships, as happened with the Aerospace District of Sardinia (DASS), which, within the framework of a parallel project (Sardinia UAV Test range), expanded the operational possibilities of RADARDRONE by allowing access to suitable flight spaces.
The radar systems were initially tested at the INAF Osservatorio Astronomico di Cagliari area in Selargius. However, sufficiently large flight spaces were needed, so on November 27, 2020, operational tests of the prototypes were conducted at the Aliquirra airfield in Perdasdefogu as part of the agreement with DASS.
“The district,” specifies President Giacomo Cao, “is particularly pleased to be able to make the Aliquirra association’s airfield available to its members, with which there is a multi-year contractual relationship, for the described activities that demonstrate how Sardinia can be perceived, nationally and internationally, as an ideal platform for testing and certifying drones and related systems.” Marco Corongiu of Asd Aliquirra echoes this: “Being able to make our airfield available to the scientific and industrial world is also an opportunity for Aliquirra to showcase the structure and potential it can offer: with adequate investments, indeed, both the runway and logistical availability could be increased, thus expanding the user base and increasing activities and human and material mobility.”
During these latest tests – carried out with the approval of the nearby Salto di Quirra Interforce Polygon – PISQ, based on the framework agreement signed in 2018 between the Ministry of Defense and DASS – various types of RPAs were flown at different altitudes and speeds. During the trials, different scenarios were simulated, reproducing real operational conditions that could normally occur in a typical urban or airport scenario, which are usually considered more sensitive to unauthorized drone intrusions. The technical and safety support of the Aliquirra association staff, the 3D Aerospazio company, and the SASS (Alpine and Speleological Rescue of Sardinia) was indispensable, all present during the tests. “3D Aerospazio,” highlights Commander Antonio Depau, “participates in the RADARDRONE Project with great interest; the professional growth opportunity represented by the possibility of collaborating with partners of high technical competence, realizes an important step towards sharing growth opportunities for the entire aerospace sector.”
The prototypes, which are based respectively on the development of a commercial marine pulse compression RADAR operating in the X-band and the potential offered by commercial data acquisition boards operating in the C-band, have shown a significant ability to detect drones, confirming the good results already highlighted during preliminary tests conducted in the areas pertaining to INAF-OAC. The project can therefore be considered concluded after achieving its set goal, however, further steps will be necessary to bring the new systems to a level where they can be successfully commercialized and used in the most sensitive areas.