Now Reading: Pentagon seeks low-collateral-damage drone countermeasures in second phase of Replicator program
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Pentagon seeks low-collateral-damage drone countermeasures in second phase of Replicator program
Pentagon seeks low-collateral-damage drone countermeasures in second phase of Replicator program
The fight against drone threats intensifies at the Pentagon. The Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) announced that it will issue a formal request for proposals for low collateral damage drone countermeasure technologies next week, as part of the second phase of its ambitious program Replicator. This initiative aims to protect military installations against increasing attacks by small drones, especially in densely populated areas.
"We look for solutions that can neutralize threats without endangering civilians or generating significant collateral damage."said Doug Beck, director of the IUD, during a hearing before the House of Representatives.
Replicator 2: Focus on affordable and rapidly deployable technologies
Following the partial success of Replicator 1which plans to deliver thousands of low-cost drones by August, the new phase of the program will focus on developing effective systems to counter enemy UAS (unmanned aerial systems).
Sunmin Kim, head of DIU Policy, explained that in addition to looking for low collateral damage interceptors, affordable and commercially available solutions will be prioritized, including those from defense contractors with mature technology.
"We are interested in low-cost detection options, such as passive RF radars, rather than traditional active sensors."Kim said, stressing the need to balance efficiency and cost in future acquisitions.
A threat that is growing globally and requires immediate responses
The use of drones as weapons has become a constant threat, both in international conflicts - such as the attacks in the Red Sea - and in reports of drone swarms over U.S. military bases.
The Pentagon has responded by creating multiple initiatives and organizations, such as the Joint Counter-UAS Office (JCO) and the Unmanned Countermeasures Systems Senior Integration GroupIn addition to designating the commanders of the Northern and Indo-Pacific commands as the main coordinators in the fight against these threats.
However, military leaders acknowledge that progress on countermeasures is not yet sufficient. "We are happy, but not satisfied."Eric Austin, Marine Corps deputy commandant for capabilities and development.
Austin highlighted the development of the Marine Air Defense Integrated System (MADIS), capable of integrating with the service's command and control systems to detect and neutralize drones. In addition, the Marines plan to deploy a man-portable anti-drone solution later this year to protect troops in the field.
Demand exceeds production capacity: more resources required
Both Beck and Maj. Gen. David Stewart, director of JCO, acknowledged that, despite having promising technologies, the Defense Department is not acquiring and deploying these systems in the numbers needed.
"We have a capacity problem in all services."Stewart admitted, while Beck stressed that more resources, financial flexibility and faster adoption of new technologies are needed.
"We must do much, much more. We have to put these capabilities in place now and dramatically improve our speed to upgrade unmanned and countermeasures technologies."Beck concluded.
The expectation is that the second phase of Replicator accelerate this process, bringing effective solutions to the battlefield before the drone threat becomes an uncontrollable risk.
