Small unmanned aircraft systems, once a niche hobbyist pursuit, have evolved into potent battlefield tools. Their rapid proliferation and advancing capabilities have prompted the Pentagon to adopt a coordinated strategy to counter them, with the Army’s Joint Counter-small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Office (JCO) at the helm.
Formed in 2020, the JCO works across the services to develop multi-domain countermeasures, conduct joint training, and build global partnerships. Congressional direction in the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act tasked the Department of Defense with creating a comprehensive plan, backed by a fiscal 2023 budget request allocating at least $668 million for research and development and $78 million for procurement.
Maj. Gen. Sean Gainey, JCO director, pointed to conflicts such as the Russian invasion of Ukraine as underscoring the urgency. “I think it’s bringing more to light of what we already know — that when you scale this capability from a small quadcopter all the way up to a larger group 3 and are able to leverage [intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance] to put other effects of other systems to bear, it really shows the importance of having counter-UAS at scale,” he said.
Initial assessments revealed each service had fielded its own solutions to meet urgent operational needs in Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan. These systems, tailored to individual service requirements, lacked the interoperability needed for joint effectiveness. “What we’ve quickly realized is that you need a system-of-systems approach,” Gainey explained. Central to this is a common command-and-control (C2) framework, mirroring integrated air defense structures.
The JCO’s joint requirements document now guides future development. More than 40 fielded systems have been evaluated, with 10 selected for further maturation. These span mounted, fixed, and handheld platforms, employing both kinetic interceptors and electronic warfare. Twice-yearly demonstrations with the Army Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office (RCCTO) and industry partners test low-collateral interceptors, cost-effective launch systems, and high-powered microwave weapons.
One focus is Raytheon’s Coyote interceptor, part of the Howler counter-UAS system, which pairs the drone with Ku-band radar. Tube-launched from ground, air, or sea, Coyote carries a seeker and warhead to neutralize group 3 threats, including one-way attack drones. Early iterations underperformed, but the third version is “performing quite well in the air,” Gainey noted.
The Marine Corps’ Marine Air Defense Integrated System (MADIS) is another selected platform, combining kinetic weapons with radio-frequency jamming. Mounted on vehicles such as the MRZR and Joint Light Tactical Vehicle, MADIS provides mobile, layered defense.
While electronic warfare was initially favored for its lower cost, the JCO is now integrating directed energy lasers and high-powered microwave systems capable of destroying drone electronics. These technologies address adversary use of autonomy to evade jamming, ensuring operators have kinetic options when electronic attack is ineffective. “I’m always going to look to integrate that EW capability into our system-of-systems approach, but I want to have the ability to have a kinetic solution in case … as they move to autonomy and find creative ways to mask themselves against our EW capability, our soldiers have a capability in the kit bag they can leverage,” Gainey said.
For battlefield management, the office has designated Northrop Grumman’s Forward Area Air Defense Command and Control (FAAD C2) as the joint counter-UAS platform. Some services are integrating their own C2 systems, such as the Air Force’s Multi-Domain Control Station, to interoperate with FAAD C2, enabling a shared operational picture without mandating a single system.
Training emerged as a critical challenge, with warfighters often receiving ad hoc instruction on numerous disparate systems. “As you can imagine, a soldier at a location having 15 or 16 different systems and trying to be trained and proficient on all of these systems — it’s quite challenging,” Gainey said. To address this, a Joint Counter-small Unmanned Aircraft System academy is being established at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, by fiscal 2024, standardizing training and qualifications across the services. Until then, instruction is provided through classes at Yuma Proving Ground and mobile training teams for deploying units.
The JCO will continue to host demonstrations, collaborate with industry, and refine its integrated approach. “At the end of the day, the technology that best delivers the best effect is what we’re going to put out there,” Gainey said.