Navy Explores Next-Generation Ship-Based CounterDrone Weapons

By Logan Williams, Warrior Editorial Fellow

US Navy ships in the Red Sea have demonstrated a mature, consistent and highly effective counter-drone system, informed by a series of layered defenses, countermeasures, interceptor weapons supported by robust, precise ISR. (intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance)

This continues to become apparent, and yet these recent maritime drone attacks underscore the growing importance of counter-drone operations at Sea, as there are certain to be much more advanced attack drone threats capable of threatening US Navy ships in the future. Navy warships will need to be further protected from new generations of drone threats, as the Houthi-drones do not appear very accurate. The threat of drone swarm attacks upon US Navy warships would likely be much more sophisticated in the future. The reality of this threat is inspiring a new generation of counter-drone weaponry.

New Counter-Drone Innovations

Ship integrated counter-drone innovations could supplement the standard Bushmaster Mk-38 25mm auto-cannon, which is limited by its deficient mobility (with a maximum weapons station elevation of 40-degrees), and thus, ill-suited for any aerial defense task. By replacing this auto-cannon with a platform designed specifically for aerial defense, such as the German Rheinmetall Skyranger (which has a near-vertical maximum angle of elevation of 85-degrees), these air-defense vessels would be able to repurpose a standard, basic capability (all warships have auto-cannons) to respond to an emerging threat.

Additionally, many of these auto-cannons utilize programmable exploding shells which, as they near the drone target, release hundreds of small tungsten cylinders — not unlike a shotgun on steroids, firing bird-shot. The German model, which is mentioned only as a prominent example because alternatives may exist, fires a larger projectile than the Mk-38 (35mm or 30mm, versus a 25mm cartridge out of the Mk-38), at a significantly faster rate (1,000 – 1,200 rounds per minute compared to the Mk-38’s 168 rounds per minute). Auto-cannons are not perfect anti-drone weapons, as they can only target a single drone – or a tightly-formed cluster – at a time, and this range is limited to an approximate maximum of two miles, however, they could provide useful additional layers of defenses to the last-resort emergency Close-in Weapons System (CWIS).

As auto-cannons are never a warship’s primary weapon, least of all against drones, the U.S. Navy would need to equip this vessel with a number of increasingly high-tech solutions.

New Ship-Integrated Counter-Drone Weapons