Air systems
Above: A drone operator from the Hospitallers field medicine division launches a drone to search for wounded.
Below left: Soldiers use drones for both lethal and non-lethal operations, including surveillance and reconnaisance missions.
In their elegance and efficiency, Coman says these net-based platforms could represent a major shift in the airborne battlefield. In tight urban environments, in particular he says they “seem to be one of the most reliable and attractive options for the operational community”. That, in turn, speaks to a broader point. Long struggling in the drone wars, Coman argues that machines like the SkyDome speak to a growing awareness that an effective riposte is needed. Ellison agrees, noting that military insiders have hunted for suitable CUAS technologies for a while – at least since the 2014 invasion of Crimea showed how powerful drones could be.
“If I build a localised air picture in my unit, I can filter that picture and feed that into the bigger air defence surveillance picture.”
Dr Cristian Coman $20m
The amount that has been donated to Ukraine from international donor countries and individuals by August 2022 for the purchase of reconnaissance drones.
The Telegraph 24
Of course, better machinery alone cannot keep the skies clear of enemy aircraft. Rather, Coman says a genuinely successful strategy means working closely with partners across military intelligence. To explain what he means, he cites the “technical interoperability exercise” the NCI Agency lately undertook in the Netherlands. “If I build a localised air picture in my unit, I can filter that picture and feed that into the bigger air defence surveillance picture,” he says. Ellison makes a similar point. As he puts it: “You’re looking for the entire picture to get your intel.” Beyond Nato’s work, moreover, there’s evidence something similar is happening in Eastern Europe. According to one July 2022 report, Russian CUAS operators are now working increasingly closely with infantry and engineers, dampening attacks by Ukrainian drones.
Bye in the sky?
Even as the battle for Ukraine remains in flux, CUAS continues to develop. As so often in the military space,
Defence & Security Systems International /
www.defence-and-security.com
AI offers a number of exciting possibilities. Coman brings up another project at the NCI Agency, this time using machine learning to recognise the signature of enemy drones. Again, Nato aren’t the only ones going down this path. Blighter Surveillance Systems, a British manufacturer, recently announced it would supply a number of A422 radars to the Zelensky government in Kyiv. Equipped with machine learning capabilities, they could help Ukrainian anti- drone operators spot targets at a distance of 20km. Even better, these radars are particularly suited at finding drones and other small opponents. Yet, as Coman once again makes clear, leaning entirely on technology may be counterproductive. Better combined arms planning is certainly one part of the puzzle, but that still leaves a number of unanswered questions for counter-drone operations. If users have to sit somewhere to operate their SkyDomes, for instance, how well should they themselves be defended?
And in a war like Ukraine’s, where manpower is at a premium, how many troops should be dedicated to counter-drone activities over other tasks? Nor are these simply theoretical questions. In August 2022, a Ukrainian drone dropped a trio of modified hand grenades on a Russian CUAS complex. And even for the most dedicated anti-drone force,
there’s no guarantee that a CUAS operation will necessarily be effective. Both Coman and Ellison characterise the situation as a game of cat and mouse: as soon as anti-drone technology improves, drone manufacturers will rush to render the system moot. Among other things, Coman highlights firewalls, and how they can be used to make drones a lot harder to find. “People in the field are really creative when finding solutions,” he says. This is undoubtedly true. But if the tale of Andriy Pokrasa proves anything, it’s that in war, remarkable results can come from the most unlikely of sources. That, at least, is something CUAS operators can take heart in. ●
Gorodenkoff; Drop of Light/
Shutterstock.com
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