This Drone Challenge is Still Unresolved

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Armored vehicle convoys could easily be vulnerable to fast-appearing, close-in enemy drone attacks. Forward Operating Bases and dismounted infantry are also potentially susceptible to fast-approaching drone swarms. 

The US Army, in collaboration with the industries, is enhancing its counter-drone capabilities by helping to bring new advanced technology to allied countries across the globe facing an increasingly complex threat. The effort includes industry moves to offer emerging counter-drone systems for international sales, the addition of advanced interceptors and emerging uses of AI — all as part of a cutting edge effort to destroy attacking drones.

While many countermeasures already exist or are in rapid development, persistent innovation is now being prioritized by the Pentagon, in an effort to stay in front of adaptive enemies pursuing fast-expanding avenues of attack. The U.S. Army is now improving existing drone defense weapons and moving quickly to deploy new ones, such as interceptor missiles, networked ground sensors, laser weapons and EW, among other things.

At the same time, while many medium, large and longer-range drone countermeasures have reached substantial levels of maturity, smaller vehicle attack drones, described as Group 1 to Group 3, present unique and still somewhat unresolved challenges. 

Drone swarms, for instance – such as commercially-available quadcopters – can be flown in groups to overwhelm radar systems, blanket areas with ISR or even themselves function as mini attack explosives or airborne IEDs. These small drone threat challenges are specifically addressed in the US Army Air and Missile Defense Vision 2028 document.