The Pentagon has revealed a new counter-drone strategy in response to a series of drone incursions near U.S. bases that have raised concerns about the lack of a comprehensive action plan to address the growing threat posed by unmanned aerial vehicles.
While much of the strategy remains classified, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is set to establish a new counter-drone office within the Pentagon known as the Joint Counter-Small UAS Office, along with a new Warfighter Senior Integration Group, as outlined in a recent memo.
The Pentagon will also initiate work on a second Replicator initiative, with the decision on funding left to the incoming administration. The first Replicator initiative aimed to deploy cost-effective drones to counter drone attacks by adversarial groups in the Middle East and other regions.
The memo highlighted the need for a shift in U.S. tactics due to the increased use of unmanned systems by adversaries, which could enable them to surveil, disrupt, and attack U.S. forces without easy attribution.
The new strategy encompasses a five-pronged approach that includes enhancing understanding of enemy drones, launching offensive campaigns to impede their drone-building capabilities, bolstering active and passive defenses against drone attacks, accelerating the production of counter-drone systems, and prioritizing counter-drone efforts in future force development.
Recent incidents involving Iran-backed Houthi rebels using unmanned aerial systems to target shipping routes in the Red Sea have underscored the urgency of addressing the drone threat. These attacks have disrupted vital trade routes and humanitarian aid shipments to conflict-affected regions.
Experts have criticized the U.S. response to such attacks as insufficient, citing the significant economic damage caused by relatively low-cost drones compared to the high expenses incurred by the U.S. in countering them.
The Pentagon emphasized the immediate and enduring threat posed by unmanned systems to U.S. personnel, facilities, and assets abroad, underscoring the need for a unified approach to counter the drone menace.
Incidents such as the drone strike in Jordan that claimed the lives of three U.S. service members and the incursions of unidentified drones into restricted airspace over key U.S. facilities have highlighted the critical need for a robust counter-drone strategy.
The Pentagon's new strategy aims to address these challenges and enhance the U.S.'s capabilities to counter the evolving threat posed by unmanned aerial vehicles.
