US Army Engineers Demonstrate Anti-Drone Technology

Credits US Army

Oct 8, 2015 | by Caroline Rees unmannedsystemstechnology.com

US Army Counter-UAV TechnologyThe US Army has announced that it has successfully demonstrated its latest counter-UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) technology, shooting down two unmanned aircraft as part of their demonstration. Although the research project began with the objective to counter rockets, artillery and mortars, the project scope was expanded to include unmanned aerial threats.

“Every country has drones now, whether they are armed or not or what level of performance. This is a huge threat that has been coming up on everybody. It has kind of almost sneaked up on people, and it’s almost more important than the counter-RAM threat,” said Manfredi Luciano, project officer for the Enhanced Area Protection and Survivability, or EAPS, Army Technology Objective. The technology is being developed by the U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Center, or ARDEC, at Picatinny Arsenal. Funding for development and testing was provided by the ARDEC Technology Office. The challenge has grown exponentially in the last decade as the world’s inventory of unmanned aircraft systems has grown from approximately 20 system types and 800 aircraft in 1999, to more than 200 system types and approximately 10,000 unmanned aircraft in 2010, according to Nancy Elliott, a spokeswoman with the U.S. Army’s Fires Center of Excellence on Fort Sill, Oklahoma.

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