13 Unauthorized Drones Intercepted in Three Months: KindLine TECH Completes Zhanjiang Port Petrochemical Base Low-Altitude Security Mission

Project Background

Zhanjiang Port is a major deep-water harbor and petrochemical logistics hub in South China. Its port-area petrochemical base handles warehousing and transshipment of crude oil, refined products, and liquid chemicals, serving as the core energy supply node for western Guangdong Province. The port's central zone features dense tank farms and frequent hazardous-materials loading operations, creating immense low-altitude security pressure.

In November 2020, the Zhanjiang Port Petrochemical Base management authority faced a time-limited low-altitude security assurance requirement, necessitating a rapidly deployable, ready-to-use counter-UAV active defense system to provide three months of continuous airspace protection over the port's core area. KindLine TECH was invited to undertake this security assurance mission.

Solution Overview

KindLine TECH provided the Zhanjiang Port base with its integrated detection-and-spoofing counter-UAV active defense system, employing a passive spectrum detection plus GNSS spoofing countermeasure architecture to establish a multi-layered low-altitude defense perimeter around the port's core zone.

On the detection side, fixed UAV detection units were deployed utilizing TDOA positioning principles to passively receive drone video-link and flight-control signals. Operating across 100 MHz to 6 GHz, the system identifies mainstream drone brands—including DJI, Autel, Dahua, and Kebeitian—as well as custom-built FPV aircraft, with a single-unit detection radius of 2–3 km. In networked configuration, the system computes real-time position (latitude, longitude, altitude), velocity, and heading for each intruding drone with accuracy better than 10 meters and a refresh cycle under one second, delivering continuous aerial situational awareness to security operators.

On the countermeasure side, GNSS spoofing devices emit regenerated GPS L1 / GLONASS L1 satellite signals at power levels not exceeding 10 mW, forming a navigation denial zone within a 500–1,000 m radius. Upon target lock by the detection system, the spoofing unit is automatically triggered for a brief transmission, causing the drone's satellite receiver to lock onto false position data and activating its built-in return-to-home or forced-landing logic. The entire process employs no high-power broadband jamming, ensuring zero electromagnetic impact on port communication and navigation facilities or petrochemical instrumentation.

Operational Results

Over the three-month assurance period, KindLine TECH's counter-UAV active defense system detected a total of 13 unauthorized drone incursions. Of these, 11 drones were successfully repelled via GNSS spoofing and 2 were forced to land, effectively preventing any drone from conducting close-range reconnaissance or posing a potential threat to the port's core zone.

Notably, leveraging the system's unique pilot-locating capability—which computes the real-time geographic coordinates of the remote controller and its bearing and distance relative to the detection unit—security personnel precisely pinpointed the position of one drone operator. The individual was apprehended on site by base management and transferred to public security authorities. This real-world case fully validated the technical superiority of KindLine TECH's system across the complete kill chain: detection, identification, positioning, neutralization, and attribution.

Technical Highlights

First, full-chain closed-loop engagement capability. From initial target detection through repulsion/forced landing to pilot attribution, the system forms a complete counter-UAV operational loop—addressing not only the aerial threat but also tracing the ground-based source, providing technical evidence for law enforcement.

Second, unique identity recognition technology. The system reads each drone's unique serial number and maintains a whitelist/blacklist database, effectively distinguishing authorized operational flights from illegal intrusions and preventing misidentification or collateral engagement.

Third, data traceability and situational analysis. All intrusion events—including flight track data, timestamps, and disposition outcomes—are recorded for historical review and can be exported as reports with a single click, providing a data foundation for low-altitude security assessment and defense decision-making.

Project Outcomes

The successful completion of this security mission represents a comprehensive real-world validation of KindLine TECH's counter-UAV active defense system under authentic, complex electromagnetic conditions. With zero missed detections and zero collateral incidents, the system demonstrated the high reliability and strong operational capability of the integrated detection-and-spoofing approach in port petrochemical scenarios, accumulating valuable deployment and operational experience for subsequent projects of similar scope.