By
Theresa Hitchens on February 02, 2021 at 2:28 PM
The Army conducted counter-drone training in Iraq in April 2020.
WASHINGTON: The Pentagon will choose a first round of industry-developed systems for shooting down small drones in early 2022, according to officials at the the Joint Counter-small Unmanned Aerial Systems Office (JCO).
That initial set of capabilities is known as “Low-Collateral Effects Increment No. 1,” JCO Director Army Major Gen. Sean Gainey told reporters in a briefing today. The plan is to figure out what industry has “ready to deliver; ready to get it out to the field, pretty quickly.”
The term “low-collateral effects” refers to counter drone systems that can be employed with few negative consequences for non-enemy aircraft and electronic systems near the field of intercept. Those types of weapons are the first focus in implementing DoD’s strategy to defeat small drones, released in early January.