The Science and Technology Directorate’s (S&T) Counter-Unmanned Aerial System (C-UAS) program and partners are furthering a public-private collaboration to assess innovative C-UAS technologies to thwart drones being used for nefarious purposes. During the latest round of evaluation in July, S&T put three more promising technologies to the test.
Last summer, S&T’s C-UAS program brought government, academia, and industry together to examine two sets of technology solutions—kinetic mitigation and non-kinetic mitigation—capable of detecting, tracking, identifying, and countering the malicious use of drones in defense of our homeland and the public.
A year later, the team came back together to test three additional kinetic mitigation capabilities. Kinetic systems use the force of accelerating masses to physically alter, bring down, or destroy drones—forces such as projectiles, nets, photon plasma from lasers, and electromagnetic or radio waves. While kinetic mitigation technologies have been used by the Department of Defense, the collateral effects of using kinetic capabilities (such as falling debris from intercepted drones) were not clearly understood until this testing began last summer.
The July testing once again took place at Camp Grafton South in North Dakota, which is managed by the North Dakota National Guard. The University of North Dakota (UND)—which is part of the Federal Aviation Administration’s Center of Excellence for Unmanned Air Systems—the Northern Plains UAS Test Site (NPUASTS), and accessND provided the personnel and expertise to execute the demonstration.
“The goal of project is to investigate the state of the market in kinetic mitigation capabilities and determine the effects of using these capabilities, in order to decide which ones are suitable for the different Department of Homeland Security (DHS) component mission sets,” said S&T Program Manager Andy Myers. “The demonstrations have provided a foundation for identifying capabilities that look promising for further development, which will inform future S&T exploratory efforts.”
Potential solutions came from government, academia, and industry. One of the performers was Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Laboratories. Their Coordinated Autonomous Remote Intercept capability deployed specialized UAS group target tracking algorithms to cluster detections of aircraft, providing the operator with a computationally efficient method of tracking swarms, including their size, location, and movement.
“The system then autonomously launched a swarm of defensive aircraft to intercept the incoming threat, with consideration given to the number of available defenders and the size of the income swarm,” noted Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Laboratories UAS Program Manager Katie Gilmore.
“This method of layered defense allows computationally effective counter-swarm capabilities, deployed at the edge,” she added.
The U.S. Coast Guard Research and Development Center (RDC) was an active participant, deploying trained law enforcement personnel from CG Cutter William Chadwick, who tested a co-developed drone intercept munition. “This event allowed us to begin accessing the munitions capabilities and better understand the collateral damage risks that operational commanders will have to weigh when employing kinetic C-UAS technologies,” said RDC C-UAS Project Manager Chris Davidson.
For Fortem Technologies, this was the company’s second summer showcasing their low collateral effects kinetic interceptor, the DroneHunter® F700. “We appreciate the collaborative work with the Science and Technology Directorate and are proud to play a role in protecting our nation’s airspace and in the greater homeland security mission,” said Senior Vice President Matthew Quinn.
Over the course of the week, participants were given a common set of conditions and scenarios in which to test their technologies against drones that are representative of what is available on the market to purchase or build. This enabled the S&T team to not only gauge the effectiveness of each of these technologies in intercepting drones but also the collateral effects of downing them. Testing wrapped up before dusk to enable the team to inspect and map out the drone debris field.
“The DHS/FAA Drone Mitigation project is a great example of federal agencies working closely with North Dakota state agencies and private companies to achieve results,” said Lee Nordin, President and CEO of accessND, a service-disabled, veteran-owned scientific testing and research services company. “This type of collaboration not only contributes to the best outcomes, it makes us stakeholders in our national security.”
And the work will continue. Among the promising technologies in the offing: a rotor-entanglement system and GPS jamming—the ongoing collaboration will offer DHS’s first opportunity to test GPS jamming capabilities. The rotor-entanglement system uses a unique delivery vehicle created via 3D printing technology, making for a cost-effective mitigation system.
“The variety of C-UAS systems showcased in these demonstrations has been impressive,” Nordin commented, “and I am sure that many of these systems will find their way into our homeland defense efforts.”
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