Pentagon Seeks Safe Drone-Neutralizing Tech to Protect Civilians

The Pentagon's Defense Innovation Unit plans to issue a solicitation for low-collateral counter-drone technology next week, part of the second iteration of its Replicator rapid-fielding effort that's focused on helping the Pentagon protect its installations from small-drone attacks.

DIU Director Doug Beck told House lawmakers Thursday his organization is particularly interested in technologies that can take out drone threats in highly populated areas without major impacts on the environment and, critically, civilians.

"It's really about those low-collateral interceptors and getting after those solutions - whether it's through electronic means, kinetic or ballistic means or other forms of bringing those drones down," Beck told the House Armed Services Tactical Air and Land Forces subcommittee in a hearing.

Replicator's goal is to create a new pathway for the Pentagon to buy and scale high-need capabilities on faster timelines. Replicator 1, which is ongoing, set out to deliver thousands of low-cost drones by August of this year. Last September, then-Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced that the next phase of the effort, dubbed Replicator 2, would center on the small UAS challenge .

DIU is leading Replicator 2 and is partnered closely with the Army-led Joint Counter-Uncrewed Aerial Systems Office, JCO, and the Counter Uncrewed Systems Warfighter Senior Integration Group.

Speaking last week at the Apex Conference, DIU's chief of Policy Sunmin Kim said that along with its emphasis on low-collateral defeat systems, Replicator 2 is also focused on identifying more affordable systems that are available either commercially or from traditional defense contractors with mature technology.

"We're interested in low-cost sensing options, so things like passive [radio frequency] radars versus actually using active sensors that we typically do for aircraft," she said.

Defending against adversarial drones is a significant challenge for the U.S. military and its allies - from attacks in the Red Sea to reports of drone swarms flying over domestic bases.

Over recent years, the Pentagon has initiated several programs and entities aimed at tackling these threats, such as the Joint Capability Office (JCO) and the Counter Unmanned Systems Warfighter Senior Integration Group. In the previous year, the department appointed the leaders of U.S. Northern Command and Indo-Pacific Command as "principal coordinators" for counter-Unarmed Aerial System (UAS) activities. Additionally, in December, the Department of Defense finalized a confidential counter-UAS strategy designed to concentrate exclusively on the most pressing issues.

On Thursday, military officials stated that although the Defense Department is advancing in finding technical solutions and navigating intricate policies and permissions, its pace is still insufficient.

Although we are content, our work isn’t done yet," stated Lt. Gen. Eric Austin, who serves as the deputy commandant of the Marine Corps focusing on capabilities, development, and integration, at the hearing. "The equipment being deployed offers adaptable features through both software and hardware due to an integrated open architecture design; however, significant challenges remain in staying ahead of potential threats.

Austin highlighted the Marine Air Defense System MADIS, which can be integrated with the service’s command and control systems and capable of detecting and neutralizing small unmanned aircraft. Additionally, the Marine Corps intends to deploy a prototype of a specialized counter-Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) capability within this fiscal year aimed at protecting ground-based marines.

Austin stated that this program aims to equip Marines with portable solutions right at the forefront of combat operations. We are diligently working under the conviction that this approach could serve as a template for deployment and ongoing refinement.

Major General David Stewart, who directs the JCO, along with Beck, pointed out that even though the Department of Defense has progressed in recognizing and advancing counter-Unmanned Aerial Systems technology, they aren’t purchasing and deploying these systems in adequate numbers.

“I think we possess the ability,” Stewart stated. “However, we face some capacity issues within each service.”

Beck noted that for the services to fill those capacity gaps, they need more resources, authorities and funding flexibility from Congress.

“We have to significantly increase our efforts,” he stated. “It’s crucial that we implement these capabilities immediately. There needs to be a substantial enhancement in our ability and velocity to upgrade both unmanned and anti-unmanned systems. Additionally, we should develop the infrastructure to manage this expansion on an increasingly larger scale.”