Compass Points - Next Drone Move
Multiple counters to technology.
September 3, 2024
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Two independent wills.
On the battlefield, two opposing commanders face each other, each using every tool and stratagem to defeat the other. One important tool is new technology. New technology can be a powerful advantage, particularly at first. Over time, however, teams of engineers quickly find weaknesses and flaws in new technology and start producing new counter technologies.
Drones and various drone related technologies have had a massive impact on modern warfighting. In Ukraine, drones briefly roamed the skies with impunity. But with the arrival of counter drone technologies, drones face new defenses. Some experts estimate that today as much as 75% of small Ukraine drones are lost to Russian jammers.
Recently, Defense One reported on one Army effort to test anti-drone technologies
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Manufacturers of counter-drone gear got a rare chance this week to show off their wares and get feedback from U.S. soldiers who’ve had to fight off enemy drones overseas.
They gathered from July 31 to Aug. 8 in Fort Drum, New York, bringing everything from small arms to directed-energy weapons to “Operation Hard Kill,” a shoot-off organized by the 10th Mountain Division and the Army’s Combat Capabilities Development Command, or DEVCOM.
“You can't fake it with our soldiers,” said Maj. Anthony Padalino, a 10th Mountain Division field-artillery officer with experience against drones in Iraq. “They've actually lived it when systems didn't work, when drones impacted their base.”
The 10th Mountain is one of the few conventional Army units that, since 2020, “consistently deploys in support of Operation Inherent Resolve,” the counter-ISIS effort in Syria, according to an Army public affairs officer. Many troops deployed there have fought off drone attacks, with several becoming five-kill anti-drone aces. But sometimes, the aerial weapons still get through. In January, three soldiers died in Jordan and 40 more were injured in a drone attack.
The event drew some troops freshly returned from deployment, and some getting ready to head out. The soldiers’ sharp eye helps inform DEVCOM’s fielding of weapons to soldiers, Padalino said.
-- Defense One
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How big is the effort to field new anti-drone systems? Look at some recent industry headlines:
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-- Anduril, Rheinmetall to bring next-gen drone defense to Europe
-- New mobile solution to detect and mitigate rogue drones
-- Canada orders anti-drone firm to shut down over national security risks
-- UK’s MoD unveils powerful but inexpensive drone defense system
-- DroneShield releases largest update yet to anti-drone software
-- Dedrone posts 300% surge in drone detection, counter-UAV activity
-- Drone safety parachute maker eyes counter-drone solutions in strategic pivot
-- TSA leads international drone response training in Croatia
-- Altitude Angel launches new airspace security division Prism Detect
-- DroneShield releases AI software engine to fuse counter-drone data from diverse sensors
-- Myanmar anti-junta drone strikes surge after rebels crack army jamming tech
-- Australian counter-UAV tech to aid Ukraine zap Russian drones while sparing its defense budget
-- Small drones will soon lose combat advantage, French Army chief says
-- DroneDJ
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Do all these counter drone projects mean commanders on the battlefield should give up on drones? Not at all. Drone technology is and will remain an important tool in the commander's toolbox. But drones, or any new technology, will never be a simple and certain answer. Drones are only one tool. Commanders always need a variety of tools to employ in ever changing combinations to construct victory.
Two independent wills. Two opposing commanders, each one reaching in the toolbox in a search for victory.
To find victory, the commander's toolbox needs many tools, including air, armor, artillery, cyber, combat engineers, and more. All the tools must be used as part of a way of war that emphasizes speed and small unit initiative guided by commander's intent. Because opportunity on the battlefield can be fleeting, Marines require aggressive Captains and Corporals to continually seek and seize gaps in enemy positions. Marines have never been a sit and sense force. Marines have always been a seek and seize force. Two independent wills. Two opposing commanders. Let the other commander sit and wait on defense. The Marines, with a full toolbox at the ready, must be constantly on the move and constantly leading the attack.
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Defense One - 08/08/2024
Anti-drone ‘shoot-out’ lets experienced soldiers wring out latest gear
Organizers created innovative firing ranges to handle everything from anti-drone rifles to directed-energy weapons.
By Sam Skove
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DroneDJ
Anti-drone (Counter-drone)
https://dronedj.com/guides/anti-drone/
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Defense News – 06/19/2024
Small drones will soon lose combat advantage, French Army chief says
By Rudy Ruitenberg
I agree with the article. With every new capability, there will inevitably be new tactics and countermeasures to defeat it. For example, with small drones, I’ve seen counter-drone technology rapidly emerging everywhere. There were a lot of displays several years ago at Modern Day Marine. However, developing a technical countermeasure is only half the battle. The real challenge is acquiring that technology in mass, deploying it across the force, ensuring personnel have the right skills to use it effectively, and integrating them into normal operations. This process will happen, but it won't happen overnight. We just need to be faster than our potential adversaries. It's clear that small drones can inflict significant damage and casualties on a frugal budget.
Drones, drones and more drones, but they are a long way off before they will be strategically decisive. What is decisive is the current US space-based and satellite systems. Reading General McKenzie’s book The Melting Point, he discusses how CENTCOM traces and kills Baghdadi and Soleimani. In the Soleimani operation, the bad guy is tracked from Tehran (boarding the airplane), to a stop in Damascus, and then into the Baghdad Airport. He is tracked and IDed as he steps off the airplane, steps into his vehicle, and begins (and ends) his trip moving down “Route Irish” by a MQ-9 Drone.
Soleimani is in a two vehicle convoy that disappears in “a great flash of white arced across the screen”. For good measure they use a total of eight weapons “just to ensure success”. General McKenzie then discusses Iran’s retaliation where Iran “attempted to launch a total of sixteen missiles, all from mobile launchers” from western Iran. The General uses the word “attempted” because one blows up upon launch, four missiles break up in flight. The other 11 missiles do hit the US Al Asad Air Base where all personnel are protected in bunkers after a launch warning from CENTCOM.
The point here is the missile tracking is done by NORAD using the Space-Based Infrared System. “This system uses satellites equipped with infrared sensors to detect missile launches by identifying the heat signatures from the rockets”. Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS) provides global surveillance and early warning capabilities, helping to protect the US “and its allies from missile threats”. I also understand that US Navy combatant ships have the ability to gain access to this satellite system providing an over the horizon capability.
This raises the question: Why is the US Marine Corps developing anti-ship missiles as “leave behind forces”? Seems to me that the US Navy has a good handle on anti-ship warfare in combination with their anti-missile defense systems. The other services and Combatant Commanders have the operational level drone development covered. The National Joint Command Centers have the strategic missile launch detection lane covered. The US Army should be working the anti-missile defense lane. I am thinking of the Niki air defense system the US Army established back in the 1950s. Shouldn’t the Marines be focused on capturing advanced bases and airfields providing the opportunity to extend anti-missile defenses for detected operational and strategic missile launches?
Now my “2 cents”. In my opinion, what the Marine Corps should focus their development effort on the tactical drone “lane”. The squad leader needs a tactical drone that is light weight, with around a 5 Km range, that can be quickly launched and recovered (loitering drones are targets), and can be networked into the company and battalion commander. Semper Fi