Arthur McMiler
Northrop Grumman has completed two tests on the new artificial intelligence capabilities of its Forward Area Air Defense, or FAAD, an advanced battle manager system designed for counter-drone operations.
The tests on the counter-unmanned aerial system’s AI upgrade demonstrated streamlined decision-making to foil UAS swarm attacks through a single button command from a mobile tablet, Northrop Grumman said Monday.
Conducted in spring and late summer at the U.S. Army’s Yuma Proving Grounds in Arizona, the tests also showed the FAAD’s capability to enhance the interoperability of U.S. forces with allies and coalition partners.
According to Northrop, the system’s AI integration enables weapon pairings with targets in real time across varying kinetic and non-kinetic weapons. The FAAD is designed with an open architecture that can easily add new weapons, the company added.
Kenn Todorov, Northrop Grumman’s vice president and general manager for global battle management and readiness, said the system’s AI enhancement provides “a streamlined and intuitive engagement plan” enabling service members to prevent casualties with just a single button click.
“Northrop Grumman and the U.S. Army’s collaboration in innovation ensures the combat-proven FAAD system remains at the forefront of C-UAS technology,” he said.
The Army adopted the company’s FAAD in July 2020 as the service branch’s command and control system to counter small drones. Its features include Leonidas, the software-defined electromagnetic pulse system of the California-based company, Epirus.
