Countermeasures Briefing: 07/28/22

Highlights of the Week:

• East Coast Airport Operations Disrupted by Drone Sighting at DC Airport

• FBI, Fire Depts. Target Drones Disruptions to Wildfire Fighting Efforts

• Market Watch: Fortem Technologies Secures World Cup C-UAS Contract

• Seal of Approval: Iris Automation Lands Longest-Ever 27mi FAA BVLOS Waiver

NEWS: Unauthorized Drone in DC Grounds Air Travel Along the East Coast

Following last week's Congressional testimony of over 2,000 drone incursions at major airports in the last year, a drone sighting near Ronald Reagan National Airport (DCA) underscored the urgency facing federal regulators seeking to increase the government's power to take down uncrewed aircraft. Takeoffs and landings at DCA were halted for 45 minutes, with multiple delays reported up and down the East Coast for flights scheduled to transit National Capital Region airspace. The drone was not located. (Bloomberg)

NEWS: FBI, LAFD Partner Against Increasing Drone Intrusions at Wildfires

C-UAS Takes Center Stage in Aspen

• "I never had to look up before." SOCOM Commander GEN Richard Clarke offered his perspective on the ever-growing drone threat and need for countermeasures in his keynote address to the Aspen Security Forum. "I never had to look up because the U.S. always maintained air superiority and our forces were protected because we had air cover. But now with everything from quadcopters... to very large UAVs, we won't always have that luxury." (TheDrive)

• A new report from the Center for Naval Analyses (CNA) looks at the lessons learned from the use of autonomous systems in Ukraine. The gist: Commercial UAS featured in an outsized role in the initial conflict, both in terms of kinetic and monitoring operations, but emerging Russian EW and C-UAS capability will increase pressures on Ukraine in the long term. Small, commercially available UAS pose a significant threat to planning for future conflict, as systems proliferation leads to a more transparent battlefield capable of exposing the operations and maneuvers of armies in real time. (Full Report)

Market News

• Fortem Technologies secured the bid to provide counter drone solutions for this year's FIFA World Cup in Doha, Qatar. Fortem's SkyDome System leverages the AI-enabled TrueView radar to identify and track rogue drones and relies on an interceptor drone to mitigate airborne threats. (DroneLife)

• Soaring Eagle Technologies (SET) receives FAA approval for longest-ever 27mi BVLOS waiver. SET relies on Iris Automation's advanced detect and avoid technology, Casia. Iris Automation products have now received FAA, European Aviation Safety Agency, Transport Canada, and International Civil Aviation Organization endorsement for BVLOS operations. Iris is backed by Bessemer Venture Partners.

• Israeli UAV manufacturer XTEND has completed an MOU with Italian firm Ingegneria Dei Sistemi (IDS), establishing a partnership focused on the development of tactical UAVs and counter-UAV systems targeting the Italian market. XTEND supplies Wolverine tactical UAVs to the U.S. DOD, while IDS operates as a subsidiary of Fincantieri and produces the Black Knight UAS detection radar. (Shepherd Media)

• Aselsan announced last week that their Sahin counter-UAV system had entered service with the Turkish military. The Sahin provides all-weather detection and tracking capability and leverages a 40mm MK19 Mod 3 Grenade Launcher to fire 40mm high velocity airburst grenades to mitigate fixed and rotary-wing mini- and micro-class UAS (Army Recognition)

• Raytheon set to establish a European hub for the testing, fielding, and maintenance of defensive high-energy laser weapon systems (HELW) to support growing C-UAS markets in Europe. Raytheon has developed a 15-kW laser for use against Class 1 and 2 sUAS and continues to develop solutions against Class 3 UAS. The company plans to deliver four of its DE M-SHORAD directed-energy vehicle-mounted systems to the U.S. Army this fall, which features A 50-kW laser. (AIN Online)