Pentagon searches for cost-effective counter-drone systems

FORT WALTON BEACH, Fla. – U.S. Northern Command collaborated with dozens of companies to test various counter-drone systems to protect certain national security sites from drone incursions.

USNORTHCOM demonstrated its counter-small unmanned aerial system (C-sUAS) platform during the ‘Falcon Peak 25.2’ event at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida. For the demonstration, crews launched a “hostile” drone from Santa Rosa Island before an interceptor drone captured it with a net fired from a shotgun. 

Twenty anti-drone systems were tested in the days leading up to the event. Falcon Peak gives companies an opportunity to test their anti-drone systems in a realistic environment. 

Squarehead Technology developed an acoustic sytem that detects drones by their sound and pinpoints their location. 

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“You see a lot of drones flying near the ground, in the ground clutter, making it difficult for radars to pick up on them. Acoustics doesn’t have that issue,” Knut Moe, Squarehead Technology VP of Defense, said. 

Once the acoustic system pinpoints a drone’s location, troops can shoot it down themselves or use mitigation systems like Fortem Technologies’ low collateral effect interceptor drone. 

“[The drone] goes out and grabs it with a net and takes it down safely and puts it wherever you need to,” Jon Gruen, Fotem Technologies CEO, said.

However, Gruen’s C-sUAS platform can detect, track and mitigate drones on its own. In some cases, Fortem Technologies’ interceptor drones use explosives to eliminate hostile drones. 

In 2024, a swarm of over a dozen drones was able to fly over a military base in Virginia for 17 nights straight. At the time, lawmakers accused the Pentagon of lacking counter-drone procedures. 

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USNORTHCOM estimates about 8,000 drones are in U.S. airspace at any given time. In 2024, at least 350 drone incursions were reported across more than 100 U.S. military installations. 

“Not every drone is nefarious. Some of them are just people. They don’t know they’re not supposed to be there,” Jason Mayes, USNORTHCOM C-sUAS Division Operations Manager, said. “You don’t want one of these things flying on an airfield on an approach or departure path, when aircraft are coming in or taking off.”

Mayes said drones can easily be modified to become surveillance or smuggling tools. Some countries have used drones as guided explosive devices in warzones. 

U.S. Air Force Gen. Gregory Guillot is Commander of USNORTHCOM. He said he’s confident the military could stop a surprise drone attack. However, he hopes more anti-drone technology could protect military sites in the event of a sustained attack. 

Gen. Guilott’s goal is to have counter-drone response teams on the East Coast, West Coast and in Alaska that can respond to any drone incursion in the country within 24 hours. 

USNORTHCOM expects the number of drone incursions over national security facilities to increase in the future as hobbyist drones become more common. About 1 million drones are registered with the Federal Aviation Administration. The FAA expects that number to rise to about 2.7 million by 2027.