The critical tactical and operational vulnerability of the military to the threat of small-sized drones is forcing industry to devote resources to finding solutions that can close this combat capability gap
Recent incidents, including the use of small enemy unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) by terrorist organizations in Syria and Iraq, as well as regular armies in eastern Ukraine, combined with a booming UAV industry outside NATO borders, have raised serious questions about whether whether the armed forces are properly organized and equipped to successfully combat them at home and abroad.
The ability of the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS, banned in the Russian Federation) to purposefully drop explosives from the air represents a new challenge for the armed forces, which, according to the UN, are participating in "one of the largest urban battles since World War II." One UN commander in Iraq said there was evidence that IS militants were attaching small ammunition to quadcopters in an effort to damage the local army as it tried to retake Mosul.
In July 2017, the US Department of Defense requested an additional $ 20 million from Congress to combat the threat of IS use of unmanned aerial vehicles. Michael Shields, director of the Improvised Explosive Devices Organization, said there remains a "sense of urgency to equip the US military with anti-drone technology."
The limited capabilities of the military to detect, identify, track and neutralize small-sized UAVs have contributed to increasing their tactical and operational vulnerability. The soldiers and their commanders were faced with a serious problem, which was taken up by research organizations and design bureaus, offering practical options for further testing and deployment, which led to the emergence of a number of innovative solutions for the detection, identification and destruction of this type of attack. However, the development of specific requirements for designers and manufacturers is complicated by the uncertainty of the nature of this threat.
New ways to fight
However, new countering systems have been developed, including the DRONE DEFENDER handheld device, which shoots down drones at a distance of 400 meters. Battelle's directed energy device has already been deployed to the US contingent in Iraq. It disrupts the control of the drone, suppressing it so that not only remote operation is excluded, but also the detonation of ammunition on board, thereby the drone receives minimal damage and does not pose a threat to public safety. DRONE DEFENDER uses a non-kinetic principle of airspace protection from small quad and hexacopters without disrupting security systems. The lightweight system with an intuitive interface does not require a lot of training. It instantly disrupts the drone using two methods: disrupting the remote control or the GPS system.
The demonstration demonstrations of "Black Dart" 2016 were attended by 25 government organizations, 1200 people and more than 20 variants of unmanned aerial systems in order to test technologies for the detection, identification, tracking and neutralization of UAVs. Participants of this event had the opportunity to coordinate the operation of various systems, share information about the latest developments in anti-drone capabilities, evaluate and improve existing systems. The Black Dart scenarios provided a realistic environment for US Navy missile destroyers to escort drones launched from Eglin Air Force Base in Florida. In the initial scenarios, the UAV routes were known to all operators, which made it possible to confirm the settings of all systems and sensors and the actions of the operators. In advanced scenarios, the drone routes were unknown, which increased the realism of the learning process.
The drones were controlled from inflatable boats located two nautical miles from the ships; in sea conditions, the operation of sensors and tracking systems was tested at different ranges and altitudes. The Black Dart event was planned, coordinated and monitored by the Joint Integrated Air and Missile Defense Organization (JIAMDO).
Among the solutions shown during the Black Dart event, it is worth noting a mobile application for UAV identification developed by Northrop Grumman - Mobile Application for UAS Identification (MAUI). Chuck Johnson, head of Northrop Grumman Mission Systems, said that “The proliferation of the UAV threat is a growing concern. In today's highly complex combat scenarios we are witnessing, users need innovative and flexible capabilities such as over-the-horizon detection and non-kinetic engagement that can be quickly integrated into deployed systems.”
MAUI is a mobile acoustic application for Android cell phones. It uses the phone's microphone to detect Group 1 drones weighing less than 9 kg flying at altitudes below 360 meters and slower than 100 knots (183 km / h). Downloadable to commercial mobile devices, the MAUI software solution provides over-the-horizon drone detection and identification in noisy environments.
The DRAKE (Drone Restricted Access Using Known EW) radio frequency system, also developed by Northrop Grumman, electronically affects Group 1 drones. The example of DRAKE demonstrates the feasibility of reorienting proven anti-improvised explosive device (IED) technology for anti-drone missions while protecting its communication channels.
In sea conditions
Anti-drone exercises are also included in the US Navy's Composite Training Unit Exercises (COMPTUEX) training program, which each aircraft carrier strike group (ACG) must complete prior to deployment. “We have various systems to combat UAVs and it is important that we build on our expertise in this innovative and high-tech area,” said Admiral Jess Wilson, commander of AUG 10, which includes the aircraft carrier Dwight Eisenhower. This recognition, expressed at such a high level during the execution of the COMPTUEX AUG program, is the first of its kind. “With the advancement of drone technology that can be used to attack or gather information about surface vessels, anti-drone missions are becoming especially important in protecting the fleet,” said Patrick Dunn of HSC 7 Helicopter Squadron.
The drone countermeasures that resulted in the downing of the drone included various means. “We operated as a light unit, using the MH-60R SEAHAWK from the HSM-74 to search, track, identify and then direct the MH-60S from the HSC-7 to intercept the target,” Dunn said. The gunner of the helicopter crew shot down this drone with fire from a 12, 7-mm machine gun.
The aim of the exercise was to take advantage of the Black Dart experience and apply it to the AUG, which includes an aircraft carrier, cruisers, destroyers and nearly 80 aircraft. In a real combat situation, the aircraft carrier's aviation wing, together with cruisers and destroyers, was able to track, identify and then conduct a kinetic attack on this UAV. This practice of combat operations was successful not only by using the results of previous tests and experiments, but also by verifying the correctness of tactics and methods. Having worked out these techniques and methods, which were developed taking into account the experience of the Black Dart, the strike group confirmed that it could fight the UAV threat without any problems.
The US Navy is also looking for short-term technological solutions to combat small remotely controlled aircraft that threaten its ships, bases and other facilities. According to a spokesman for the Naval Surface Weapons Development Center in Dahlgren. the researchers are studying "ready-to-deploy, proven anti-drone capabilities that could protect naval and coast guard facilities in the continental United States."
As part of the anti-drone program, kinetic and non-kinetic options are being evaluated to neutralize enemy or suspicious vehicles classified by the US Department of Defense as Groups 1 and 2, which include platforms weighing up to 24.9 kg. According to a request for information from December 2017, the security forces of the fleet need "effective, reliable, weatherproof, easy to operate, easy to maintain anti-drone systems for territorial and point protection."
Other anti-drone systems
During the 2017 Air Force Research Laboratory Commanders Challenge held at the National Security Center in Nevada, an attached mesh drone, part of an anti-drone system being developed by a group of engineers from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, intercepted a DJI S1000 hexadron with its net (photo below) … Groups of participants were given six months to develop a complete anti-drone system capable of helping to defend military bases. To detect drones in this system, in addition to an attack drone, a camera and a laser rangefinder are used.
In the Air Force Research Laboratory Commanders Challenge, another anti-drone system was shown - the TART S6 drone, equipped with a paintball gun that shoots projectiles with nets around a suspicious drone. Developed by a team of engineers from Hanscom Air Base, this system uses radar, jamming devices and the TART S6 drone itself.
A radar and signal jamming device, integrated into another anti-drone system created by a team of developers from Kirtland AFB, tracked the PHANTOM 4 drone, having a real opportunity to neutralize it by jamming and catching the network. The NET GUN X1 Net Launcher is a low-cost, easy-to-use active deterrent that allows military or law enforcement agencies to capture drones at ranges of up to 15 meters.
Lightweight, small and compact, certified for two different types of networks, it can easily be deployed in any unit to combat unwanted drones. Capturing a drone allows you to quickly take control of the situation and then transfer it to forensic experts who can identify its operator.
A team from Robins AFB demonstrated their system by firing a water cannon into the VORTEX 250 drone. It is a multilevel system that uses radar and a camera for detection and identification. It also includes a search and strike drone to intercept and a water cannon to shoot down suspicious drones.
Networked anti-aircraft solutions are gaining more and more credibility. To assess the level of technology, the US Defense Threat Reduction Agency sponsored the C-UAS Hard Kill Challenge, which was held in February 2017 at the White Sands Proving Ground. Among the systems demonstrated was a SKYWALL 100 hand-held net gun manufactured by the British company OpenWorks Engineering with an estimated range of 100 meters. A portable launcher fires a net that covers the drone and then gently lowers it to the ground with a parachute.
The system was tested on several aircraft and helicopter drones in a near-real-world environment. Several drones were caught in the SKYWALL net and safely lowered to the ground with an SP40 parachute. The captured drones were then returned to the test team to re-enter the competition. OpenWorks is developing a longer-range SKYWALL 300 automated anti-drone system, as well as a projectile with an SP40-ER network that can catch suspicious drones at a distance of up to one kilometer.
The anti-drone market is also attracting a lot of attention from major American and European companies, including Rheimetall and Airbus. Rheinmetall Defense Electronics has demonstrated a shipborne anti-drone laser system, which is a turret with four high-energy lasers. The Gatling-like laser can reportedly shoot down a drone at a distance of 500 meters; Four 20 kW lasers, working simultaneously, generate an 80 kW beam and can shoot down the drone and detonate any weapon on board.
Hensoldt, a division of Airbus DS Electronics and Border Security, has added a portable jamming system to its family of anti-drone systems, which detects illegal intrusion of small drones over critical areas and implements electronic jamming, minimizing the risk of collateral damage. The newest addition to the XPELLER modular anti-drone system product line is the lightweight jamming system developed by its South African subsidiary GEW Technologies.
Airbus also signed a cooperation agreement with US-based Dedrone on a UAV countermeasures system that combines sensor data from various sources with the latest technologies for fusion of analysis, signal and jamming data.
One of the optimal solutions for ensuring low-altitude safety is the Dedrone DroneTracker system. It consists of a multisensor unit (stationary or portable), an RF sensor (as a separate module), and upgradeable signal processing software. The technologies integrated into it make it possible to determine the exact type of drone, the flight route, its owner, where the operator is and, in some cases, what he sees.
With the proliferation of small helicopter-type drones that can be easily purchased online, the era of flying IEDs is becoming a reality, and protecting against them will require significant efforts and resources from both industry and the military.
The multifaceted threat of improvised explosive devices
