• Military Menu                       

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Industry
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• WMD
• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

Counter-sUAS / Mobile Force Protection

The rapid evolution of small unmanned air system (sUAS) technologies is fueling the exponential growth of the commercial drone sector, creating new asymmetric threats for warfighters. DARPA’s Mobile Force Protection (MFP) program seeks to develop an integrated system capable of defeating self-guided sUAS (i.e., those that do not rely on a radio or GPS receiver for their operation) attacking a high-value convoy on the move, and recently awarded Phase 1 agreements to start research. To accelerate the program’s pursuit of potentially revolutionary benefits, the Agency has also issued a Request for Information (RFI) to identify promising sUAS-sensing and -neutralization technologies that could augment or complement the MFP systems currently under development.

A recent area of concern is the increasing use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) by hostile adversaries. UAVs small enough to be portable (i.e. human-portable) are often termed miniature (mini) or micro unmanned air vehicles (mUAV, collectively). Such UAVs can be assembled from commercially off-the-shelf materials. A typical mUAV has a wingspan of less than or equal to about three meters, operates at altitudes of less than or equal to about five hundred feet (500 ft.), and can carry a payload of about 1 kilogram (kg) or less to about 30 kg. Electric motors may provide UAVs with acoustic stealth. Commercially available miniature flight control computers and sensors provide mUAVs with some degree of autonomy, mitigating the need for line of sight operation.

The rise of unmanned platforms have opened multiple opportunities across the Defense and Commercial arena. However, the abuse of the UAV technology has given rise to the Counter- UAV technology. In a typical defense environment, the missile defense system is capable of preventing any unmanned platform from entering the restricted airspace, however the cost incurred does not justify its usage. The projectiles used by the C-UAV system are cost effective compared to the missile defense system, which is also one of the key drivers of the platform.

The Counter- UAV market is estimated at around USD 1.8 Billion in 2020 and is expected to grow to USD 5.47 Billion by 2028. The cumulative market is expected to surpass USD 32 Billion. The C-UAV market is expected to experience a CAGR growth of around 13%. The Ground Based Platforms are expected to continue its dominance in the market, these include both the fixed platforms and vehicle mounted platforms.

It is anticipated that inexpensive mUAVs may be used by adversaries not only for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR), but also as weapon delivery platforms that may carry explosive, chemical, radiological, and/or biological payloads. Attempting to destroy mUAVs carrying such payloads makes possible inadvertent abetting of an adversary's mission. That is, conventional attempts to destroy an mUAV may not neutralize the payload, but may actually assist in dispersing chemical or biological agents over an area. Alternative systems and methods for controlling and containing a threat or hostile weaponized mUAV are desired.

MFP seeks scalable, modular, and affordable approaches with small footprints in terms of size, weight, power, and number of people needed for operation. With this RFI, DARPA is not looking for end-to-end systems, but rather innovative technology components that could be combined with the MFP systems integrators’ fielded concepts. DARPA will review responses to assess technology and system relevance, potential performance capability, and technology maturity. To be considered, technologies must be sufficiently mature to perform a field demonstration planned for January 2018.

“Keeping warfighters safe from small unmanned air systems requires knowing that one or more is coming and removing their potential as a threat while they’re still at a safe distance,” said Jean-Charles Ledé, a program manager in DARPA’s Tactical Technology Office (TTO). “This RFI aims to help DARPA stay abreast of the latest technologies that could provide those capabilities, and integrate some of the most promising ones into an eventual MFP technology demonstration system.”

DARPA is interested in novel technologies in two main thrust areas:

1. Sensing: The ability to detect numerous sUAS at a distance of 1 km or greater, have a small footprint compatible with tactical ground vehicles such as the High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV or Humvee) and the U.S. Coast Guard’s Defender-class 25-foot boat, and support highly automated operations.
2. Neutralization: The ability to disable or destroy numerous self-guided sUAS at a distance of 1 km or greater, while ensuring low collateral damage and low cost per engagement.

The RFI invited short white papers (no more than three pages plus a cover sheet) describing the respondent’s technology.

To expedite the development of counter-sUAS capabilities and their near-term introduction to the field, the Agency recently awarded Phase 1 agreements for MFP to three teams, led by Dynetics, Inc. (Huntsville, Ala.), Saab Defense and Security USA, LLC (East Syracuse, N.Y.), and SRC, Inc. (North Syracuse, N.Y.).

“The three teams we’ve assembled have innovative ideas for a versatile, layered defense system that could protect convoys on the move from multiple small unmanned aircraft systems in real time,” said Jean-Charles Ledé, a program manager in DARPA’s Tactical Technology Office (TTO). “Each team will now work to integrate novel ideas for advanced sensors and neutralization approaches into a common framework emphasizing safety for civilian bystanders, ease of operation, and low size, weight, power, and cost. Our goal is a technology demonstration system that could fit onto currently deployed tactical ground vehicles and maritime vessels—getting advanced and upgradeable capabilities quickly to the warfighters who need them.”

To help speed development and facilitate interoperability of MFP’s capabilities, DARPA has selected the U.S. Army’s Maneuver Aviation and Fires Integration Application (MAFIA) service-oriented architecture as the common framework for the data-fusion engine, decision-aid algorithms, and user interface, as well as the backbone for the teams’ command and control (C2) software. Already fielded by several Defense Department (DoD) programs of record, MAFIA supports multiple operating systems and provides services, libraries, common applications, and a software development kit for performer integration. These features will facilitate creation of MFP’s envisioned plug-and-play system capable of integrating new sensors and emerging technologies. In addition to all DoD Services, DARPA is working closely on MFP with the Department of Homeland Security’s Science & Technology Directorate and the U.S. Coast Guard.

The MFP program is aiming for three phases punctuated by open-air demonstrations involving increasingly sophisticated threats and scenarios. The goal is for the technology demonstration system to show initial functionality at the end of Phase 1 and progressively improve, culminating in a full-capability demonstration on a moving vehicle or vessel by the end of Phase 3.

At the conclusion of each open-air demonstration, DARPA plans to offer the Services and other U.S. Government agencies the opportunity to fund extended field evaluations of the current technology demonstration system. DARPA’s goal is to develop the interim versions and the final prototype system to meet the needs of a broad number of potential U.S. Government and commercial users.

In tests at Eglin Air Force Base in Spring 2021, DARPA’s Mobile Force Protection (MFP) program demonstrated a Counter-Unmanned Air System (C-UAS) multilayer defense architecture to defeat unauthorized drone intrusions over military installations or operations. Development of this low-cost reusable drone interceptor system approach began four years ago with the aim of creating an integrated system for thwarting attacks from self-guided small unmanned aircraft. The goal is to protect high value convoys moving through potentially populated regions where there is a requirement to avoid using explosive defensive weapons and mitigate collateral damage.

The technology demonstrator successfully neutralized tactically-relevant drones using a newly-developed X band radar that automatically senses and identifies unmanned aerial system threats. The radar then pairs targets to specific interceptors through an automated decision engine tied to a command and control system, launching and guiding rotary and fixed wing interceptors with two types of drone countermeasures while on the move and without operator intervention.

“Because we were focusing on protecting mobile assets, the program emphasized solutions with a small footprint in terms of size, weight, and power,” said MFP program manager Gregory Avicola in DARPA’s Tactical Technology Office. “This also allows for more affordable systems and less operators.”

The requirement that the system field non-kinetic solutions pushed concepts that could be employed in and around civilian areas. The primary drone negation mechanism shoots strong, stringy streamers from reusable interceptors that foul propellers causing loss of propulsion. Additionally, other non-kinetic techniques were developed and demoed. The focus on defeating raids with multiple threats, rather than single unmanned aerial attackers, required the development of an integrated solution of sensors, autonomy, and mitigation solutions more robust than existing systems. Dynetics was the primary systems integrator.