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For decades, the United States has used large drones for military purposes, but with the increasing use of small drones by adversaries, other measures are necessary. This is why strengthening a robust anti-drone defense system is a top priority for the Pentagon. In June of this year, a new field exercise was held for four weeks at the Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona, where anti-drone systems were tested against a coordinated attack group consisting of up to 50 drones from various angles—a tough real-world interrogation test.

    Michael Parent, who is in charge of these activities at the Joint Counter Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Office (JCO), said that "Demonstration 5" is their most challenging drone defense test to date. The JCO was established in 2020 and has been holding similar industry demonstration events at the same location for the past three years.

  According to the report by "Breaking Defense," these scenarios include fast jets, slower propeller drones, and micro-helicopters. Their weights range from 20 pounds to over 1000 pounds. This aerial fleet attacks in a coordinated manner, rather than one after another, coming in waves from different coordinates and altitudes, pushing the challenge to the extreme.

  Most defense measures are "layered," rather than relying on a single weapon or sensor. These defense systems utilize radar, cameras, radio frequency scanners, and various types of drone jammers, such as guided rockets, shooting drones, machine guns, and GPS/radio jammers. How to coordinate all these sensors and effectors to deal with the fierce attack of unmanned attack aircraft is the ultimate test for these systems. Interestingly, none of these systems used experimental laser or microwave weapons.

  Compared to last year when only five suppliers participated, this year there are more, with nine system suppliers taking part, providing the Pentagon's decision-makers with a wider range of options for assessment. However, at least in public, officials from the JCO are tight-lipped about which supplier's technology performed the best.

  The performance is still being analyzed, but after a comprehensive analysis of the data, each branch of the military will decide whether to purchase any of the demonstrated anti-drone solutions based on their strengths, weaknesses, and operational requirements.

  The next major exercise is scheduled to take place in early 2025.