All articles tagged with #counter uas
The Defense Department says it used counter-UAS authorities to shoot down a U.S. Customs and Border Protection drone with a laser near Fort Hancock, Texas; a temporary FAA flight restriction was issued around the area, no commercial aircraft were affected, and lawmakers criticized the apparent lack of coordination between agencies.
The Pentagon’s new guidance for protecting critical infrastructure from drones urges passive physical defenses—such as nets, cables, and hardened openings—within a Harden-Obscure-Perimeter (HOP) framework, as part of a layered counter-UAS approach coordinated by JIATF-401. It expands authorities for base commanders and aims to protect civilian sites and large events like the World Cup, while stressing that hardening is not a silver bullet and must be paired with active defenses. The guidance also references a counter-UAS marketplace for procuring barriers and interceptors and notes evolving international trends in base protection and ongoing industry efforts.
Poland has signed a PLN 15 billion contract with a Kongsberg-PGZ consortium to develop and deploy the San counter-UAS system to defend its airspace from Russian drones; the package includes 18 anti-drone batteries, 52 firing platoons, 18 command platoons and about 703 vehicles, with initial deliveries due in 2026. Kongsberg’s share is about NOK 16 billion. The SAN program is part of a broader overhaul of Poland’s air defense alongside Narew, Pilica+ and Patriot systems, funded in part by EU SAFE loans.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has directed the Army to establish a new interagency task force, JIATF 401, to develop and rapidly deploy counter-unmanned aerial systems capabilities across the U.S. military, with significant authority and funding to outpace adversaries and address drone threats.