DVIDS – News – Groundbreaking demonstrations against small UAS are taking place at the US Army’s Yuma Proving Ground

Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (SUAS) are the newest marvel in the aviation world.

The US military has been using unmanned aerial vehicles for decades to carry out dangerous reconnaissance and assault missions that save the lives of soldiers.

However, as the technology continues to spread, America’s adversaries could potentially use sUAS to attack soldiers, requiring robust Counter-sUAS (C-sUAS) defenses that can be deployed anywhere American forces can be deployed.

The U.S. Army’s Yuma Proving Ground (YPG) provided the ideal backdrop for a week-long C-sUAS demonstration in April, focusing on cutting-edge drone busting technology in a low-collateral interceptor assessment – in short, an assessment of functions that can intercept and defeat an incoming threat. The main objective of this demonstration was systems capable of defeating small Class 1 and Class 2 drones or light models that are easy and cheap to purchase and difficult to detect and intercept. In January, the Army’s Joint C-sUAS Office (JCO) and the Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office (RCCTO) obtained information from private industry and subsequently received several white papers. Ultimately, three providers took part in the test at YPG.

“We received a lot of feedback from the industry and these were the three most promising candidates we looked at that do not currently have a government contract,” said Adam Martin, head of JCO’s testing team. “We wanted to see where the industry has been going since we did our assessments over a year ago to see new approaches and things that we didn’t consider.”

The Skylord Griffon from XTEND, the Drone Kill Drone (DKD) from Elta North America and the Modular Intercept Drone Avionics Set (MIDAS) from Aurora Flight Sciences took part in the demonstration, which was planned on a short timeline from the end of January.

“We chose Yuma because it has both the capabilities and the broad scope,” said Martin. “The instrumentation really drew us to this side.”

YPG is most powerful for a limited number of test areas suitable for this type of work. The clear, stable air and extremely dry climate of the test site, as well as extensive knowledge of institutional UAS tests, make it an attractive location for testers, as does the ability to control a large part of the high-frequency spectrum. YPG has more than 500 permanent radio frequencies and several thousand temporary ones in any given month.

There was also confidence in YPG’s ability to conduct the test on short notice.

“YPG’s support is always excellent,” said Martin. “When I found out we were coming to Yuma, I knew that everything would be done on time and professionally at the highest level.”

YPG’s staff were not impressed with the testing requirements and the tight schedule.

“The critical part was trying to understand the timeline and needs of the entire company,” said Hi-Sing Silen, test officer. “It took a lot of communication.”

YPG was able to use the existing infrastructure and years of institutional knowledge to test scores from C-sUAS systems on the large site in an isolated part of the vast areas of YPG.

“All of this compound and test methods have been used for the past few years,” said Silen. “With every test event you learn something and apply the knowledge you gain to future tests.”

The testers created a schedule and test scenarios to challenge the providers’ systems.

“The schedule was three days for them to set up, do calibration flights, and do all of their investigations,” said Silen. “The vendors knew they were going to a demonstration, but they didn’t know what the profiles were or what they were hiring.”

Each system tested has a different shutdown mechanism: some include the rotors of a target UAS with an attached net or rope that is fired from an on-board air pistol, others disable the attacker’s UAS by ramming it with full force. The testers installed small GPS pods with compass on each attacker UAS and relied on ground-based radars to track the system being assessed so as not to affect their performance in any way.

“We don’t change or set any variables in the systems under test,” said Silen. “The ground penetrating radar can record its system in flight, and we will use this radar trace to extrapolate data. They also have internal position data that they provide to us every day. “

Each provider had to use their system on four test days in several realistic scenarios.

“The scenarios were very simple: one drone approached your defended area and the other went into your defended area,” said Silen. “We ran the same scenarios for everyone so we could compare performance with the same flight profiles.”

During the scenarios, the aggressor drones approached the defended area at different speeds and altitudes in order to test the ability of the system being assessed to combat the threats. The testers looked for anomalies and noted, among other things, the ease of use and portability of the individual systems.

The demonstration drew high-profile visitors, including US Senator Gary Peters, who represents Michigan and is a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC).

“I am impressed with the Yuma Proving Ground,” said Peters. “This facility is amazing. It is clear that you could never repeat this: it is a win for the whole country. “

Peters also sits on several SASC subcommittees and is concerned about the emerging threat that unmanned aerial vehicles could pose in shameful hands.

“I was particularly keen to see the anti-drone technology testing firsthand,” he said. “I chair the Senate Homeland Security Committee and I am concerned about threats to the homeland from relatively inexpensive drones that can wreak havoc. We need to find ways to protect American citizens at home and abroad: I believe this is one of the greatest threats we will face as a country. “

Peters believes that YPG is an important component in ensuring that this threat is effectively countered.

“Drones and other weapon systems are something that we have to dig deeply into. So it’s great to have a place like Yuma Proving Ground where we can develop these technologies that will ultimately save American lives.”

The demonstrations are expected to continue biannually for the next several years, with each subsequent test focusing on different types of C-sUAS systems.

“The industry continues to move forward, and what was best 18 months ago may not still be the best,” said Martin. “We’re trying to dig into the brains of the industry and give them the opportunity to show what they’ve done.”

Recording date:	04/13/2021
Release Date:	04/14/2021 4:16 PM
Story ID:	393745
Place:	YUMA PROVING GROUND, AZ, USA

Web views:	104
Downloads:	0

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