Counter-sUAV Military Training Revolutionized
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Small unmanned aerial vehicles are used more and more as a capacity that can inflict casualties and damage to US forces, claims the head of the Pentagon’s counter-drone effort. In response, he wants every soldier trained to fight off swarms of enemy unmanned aerial systems.
The Director of the Joint Counter Small UAV Office, or JCO, Maj. Gen. Sean Gainey, has recently outlined an effort involving the creation of a joint counter-UAV training program designed to teach soldiers and other service members how to operate the systems once they are fielded.
The Army’s air and missile defense community will be responsible for employing larger weapon systems such as high-energy lasers and microwave systems to defend large formations on the battlefield. But there will not be enough air and missile defense units to protect everyone, so “ideally, we want everybody in the force to have the ability to defeat this threat,” Gainey said.
“I think inherently the Army is really looking hard at making counter-UAV [a military occupational specialty] agnostic platform. Anyone from a cook to a medic to an infantryman [or] tanker can operate the system, so we are trying to make the requirements and the material solutions very intuitive,” said Col. Marc Pelini, division chief for Capabilities and Requirements at the JCO.
According to military.com, smaller units will need smaller counter-UAV systems that will likely rely on electronic warfare, or EW, a technology that jams or disrupts enemy drones.
The move is part of a new strategy approved by the DoD a few weeks ago, providing a framework for addressing sUAV hazards and threats in a variety of operating environments, including the U.S. homeland, host nations, and contingency locations.
The strategic objectives will be achieved by working through three lines of effort: The development of innovative solutions, providing mission-ready forces that are able to deter and defeat sUAV threats through the development of operational concepts and joint training standards, and finally – partnering with the national security innovation base, federal and non-federal entities, allies, and partners to facilitate rapid development and deployment of effective C-sUAS solutions, according to army.mil.
