C-UAS task force begins directed energy pilot programme

Auriga Space Hermes is electromagnetic launcher prototype inside a 10 ft shipping container. (Auriga Space)

The Pentagon task force combating the unmanned aerial system (UAS) threat is launching a new directed energy (DE) pilot programme to use lasers and microwave weapons to defend military facilities in the continental United States from drone attacks.

“What we are really focused on right now is high-energy lasers and high-powered microwave” weapons, said US Army Brigadier General Matthew Ross, director of Joint Integrated Task Force 401 (JIATF 401). “We have a number of systems [where] we have proven the science works ... but we need to figure out how to use them successfully, in an operational context,” Brig Gen Ross said during a 21 August briefing.

“We need to develop the tactics, techniques and procedures” to employ those directed energy weapons for counter UAS (C-UAS) base defense, in a way that will not constrain or interfere with day-to-day operations of the facility, the one-star explained. “I do not want to shut down the airspace [over the base] as I use these systems. I also want to understand the fully burdened cost of those systems to operate,” Brig Gen Ross added.

The C-UAS DE pilot programme will last a year, with task force officials “putting those [DE] systems on installations, have actual service members run them, operate and maintain them”, Brig Gen Ross said. “I want to know what their power requirements are in a 365-day period. How many days are they fully mission capable versus how many days do they require repairs,” he added, explaining the overall goals of the pilot programme.