The Department of War hosted 'Falcon Peak 25.2' to explore cost-effective counter-drone technology to eliminate drone incursions over sensitive national security sites.

The organization is modeled after an agency the Pentagon formed two decades ago to counter improvised explosive devices that insurgents used against U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Army oversees drone defense for the military. But critics of the Army's past approaches have said its counter-drone defenses are built on older technology and are not adaptable enough, given how quickly the drone threat has evolved on the battlefield in Ukraine. New technologies can detect and identify incoming drones, then take them out more efficiently. Older technology, critics say, is poor at identifying drones, including which ones pose the most acute and immediate threat.

'Special Report' all-star panelists discuss the Biden admin's foreign policy and U.S. preparations for a response to the deadly Jordan drone attack. A United Kingdom citizen was sentenced to 18 months in prison after pleading guilty to conspiring to procure a high-powered microwave system and counter-drone system from the United States to Iran, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced Thursday. U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves said Saber Fakih, 48, conspired with Bader Fakih, 43, of Canada, Altaf Faquih, 72, of the United Arab Emirates, and Alireza Taghavi, 48, of Iran, to export and attempt to export an industrial microwave system (IMS) and counter-drone system to Iran. "The potential military uses of the IMS could include high-power microwave-based directed-energy weapon systems. The counter-drone system, which has both commercial and military uses, can be used to stop, identify, redirect, land or take total control of a target unmanned aerial vehicle," the attorney's office said.

The United States is reportedly planning to send Ukraine another $1.3 billion in military aid as it continues a counteroffensive against Russia. The weapons package includes air defenses, counter-drone systems, exploding drones and ammunition, Reuters reported, citing two unnamed U.S. officials. Weapons manufacturers will provide the arms purchased by the United States to Kyiv through President Biden's Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI) program, so U.S. weapons stocks will not be depleted. Among the systems and ammunition the U.S. plans to buy for Kyiv are counter-air defenses made by L3Harris Technologies called the Vehicle-Agnostic Modular Palletized ISR Rocket Equipment or VAMPIRE, Reuters reported. Military aid, delivered as part of U.S. security assistance to Ukraine, is unloaded at the Boryspil International Airport outside Kyiv, Feb. 13, 2022.

WASHINGTON – Last month, at two newly minted military facilities in eastern Saudi Arabia, US and Royal Saudi air defense units teamed up for live-fire drills to shoot down a series of training drones mimicking the speed and altitude of a variety of Iranian attack UAVs. In an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor, Army Gen. Michael "Erik" Kurilla, the top commander of US forces in the Middle East, described the first Red Sands counter-drone experimentation exercise as "very successful." But not everything went smoothly -- and that was the point. One Saudi-owned defense system proved unable to engage at the necessary range, forcing soldiers to improvise. Other weapons hit the targets successfully, including LIDS (Low, Slow, Unmanned Aircraft Integrated Defeat System) and Coyote counter-drone systems brought in by the US Army.

The US is hoping to combat the growing criminal use of drones with new rules that will allow local law enforcement agencies and other organisations to have counter-drone systems. At present, legal restrictions in the US hamper efforts to tackle such activity. The Federal Aviation Administration bans anyone from interfering with an aircraft in flight, including drones, while the Federal Communications Commission forbids jamming radio signals, a common anti-drone technique. Only a few federal agencies are permitted to shoot down drones in extreme circumstances, such as threats to critical infrastructure. US police agencies have been clamouring for counter-drone systems in the face of increasing criminal and careless use of drones.

Rogue Drone Pilots Face A New Foe: Deep Learning AI In the wake of airspace-invading drones causing the precautionary shutdowns of three major airports--London's Gatwick in December and Heathrow in early January, along with Newark Liberty International, NJ last week--aviation authorities the world over are now considering the acquisition of commercial drone detection, tracking, and capture systems, in a bid to keep airliners and passengers safe. However, they could be jumping the gun. Experts are warning that today's counter-drone systems are no cure-all, as they cannot defend against some types of criminal drone threat--especially the most determined airspace saboteurs using home-built, customized drones that may not respond to conventional countermeasures. However, a number of ingenious ideas are now being investigated to shore up some of the gaps in functionality, and some of them are even based on the technology of the moment: deep learning. Aviation safety authorities worry about drones because they can penetrate cockpit windscreens, injuring the pilots, or risk starting inflight fires by breaching the fuel tanks in aircraft wings, or causing sudden engine failure during a critical part of flight like takeoff or landing, perhaps leading to a crash.

Germany reportedly intends to acquire the Northrop Grumman MQ-4C Triton high-altitude surveillance drone, according to a story in Sueddeutsche Zeitung. In 2013, Germany cancelled a similar program to acquire Northrop Grumman's RQ-4 Global Hawk, a surveillance drone on which the newer Triton is based, due to cost overruns. The Triton is a large, long-endurance system that was originally developed for maritime surveillance by the U.S. Navy. The U.S. Army released a report outlining its strategy for obtaining and using unmanned ground vehicles. The Robotics and Autonomous Systems strategy outlines short, medium, and long-term goals for the service's ground robot programs.

Dronescapes is a collection of vibrant, mystical paintings of drones by Australian artist Kathryn Brimblecombe-Fox. In a conversation with the Center for the Study of the Drone, the artist shares the meaning of her work, explains her use of traditional Australian motifs, and shares her views on the rise of autonomous technology. The Federal Aviation Administration released a new set of reports of airspace incidents involving drones, including close encounters with manned aircraft and drone use over airports. The dataset includes 1,274 reported incidents that occurred between February and September 2016, around 400 more than occurred during the same period in 2015. At the National Interest, Elsa Kania argues that China could soon overtake the U.S. in the development of autonomous drones.

Telecommunications firm Verizon has acquired Skyward, a drone operations management company. Skyward develops software for drone operators to manage flight tracking and logging, maintenance scheduling, and contract management. The drone startup will join Verizon's Internet of Things portfolio. Kenya's government has implemented regulations for commercial drone use. The Kenya Civil Aviation Authority will begin allowing businesses to import and use drones for a range of operations.