The Army’s Plan to Eradicate Enemy Drone Swarms

Video Above: Destroying Drone Swarms

By Kris Osborn – President & Editor-In-Chief, Warrior Maven

Are mechanized forces and units of maneuvering soldiers vulnerable to large swarms of mini-drone explosives or surveillance operations suddenly appearing in the air? The U.S. Army is taking measurable and impactful steps to minimize and counter the risk.

Small drone swarms can hit speeds of 60-to-70 miles per hour, and some are small enough to fit in the palm of the hand. Swarms of these can be dispatched to blanket an area with ISR, build-in redundancy so a mission can continue if one is destroyed or even become explosives themselves programmed to detonate upon impact.

They are a unique and pressing threat capable of presenting a new sphere of challenges for advancing ground infantry or armored units. They can of course also threaten Forward Operating Bases and other high-value targets. Newer applications of advanced autonomy can also enable greater flight-path and mission coordination among drones themselves, and they of course build in redundancy such that attacks can continue in the event several are destroyed.

Counter Drone Technologies

These are key reasons why the Army and its industry partners are now testing, refining and upgrading a key number of counter drone technologies and tactical approaches.