Squad-level Technology to Detect and Counter UAS (Unmanned Aircraft Systems)

The Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) threat has been growing almost exponentially, largely driven by the exploding availability of low-cost drone technology. The migration of this capability to the battlefield represents a serious and immediate danger. A comprehensive Counter-UAS approach is desperately needed, but development attempts using radar, optics, and/or acoustics have only proven acceptable at detection, while offering no ability to deny overflight. GIRD Systems proposes to leverage low-profile, TRL-8 UAS-denying systems to satisfy the squad level requirements. Phase I Program objectives are two-fold: (1) Research - to explore the incorporation of additional sensors and sensor fusion for improved detection and tracking and, (2) Productization - to exploit the latest, highly-integrated signal processing and communications ICs from consumer handheld devices to drastically reduce the systems SWAP-C.