Software-Defined Radio System for Drone Detection: Preliminary Testing

The paper presents a software-defined radio (SDR) system based on the USRP X310 platform to detect and monitor civil UAV (drone) activity. The system supports wideband, high-fidelity signal reception, enabling the interception and analysis of radio frequency (RF) signals emitted by commercial drones operating in industrial, scientific, and medical (ISM) and adjacent bands. The system evaluation includes tests on dynamic range, sweep signal analysis, sensitivity, and detection of real drone transmissions. Preliminary laboratory results demonstrate the system's potential as a foundation for advanced UAV monitoring and countermeasure solutions in sensitive environments.