Angeline Leishman
The Department of Defense’s Joint Counter-Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Office recently concluded a three-week testing of various counter-drone technologies at Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona as part of JCO’s second industry demonstration.
Mike DiGennaro, team lead for the office’s counter-UAS testing, said five defense companies flew their CUAS systems against commercial off-the-shelf drones usually used by malicious actors around the world.
During the demo, IXI Technologies and DroneShield showcased the capability of their handheld dismounted technologies to interfere with threatening drone operations using a radio frequency signal.
Meanwhile, Northrop Grumman, Smart Shooter and Flex Force used their ground-based aerial denial systems to engage a flying target while providing other countermeasures.
JCO plans to award a contract to its selected vendor that could help close gaps in the Pentagon’s counter-drone efforts in the future.
The most recent demonstration followed the April event that saw Boeing‘s Aurora Flight Sciences subsidiary, XTEND and ELTA North America put their low-collateral effects interceptor capabilities to test.
The military eyes the next biannual showcase to take place in April 2022.
