The US Navy's M80 Stiletto Test Ship Disrupted Drone Swarms During Trials

Earlier this month, we reported how Israel used fully autonomous drone swarms to locate, identify, and target militants making AI-powered wars a reality in near future. The U.S. Navy is also preparing for this eventuality by arming itself with defense capabilities like DroneSentry X, which it recently tested on its M80 Stiletto ships.   

Manufactured by the Australian defense contractor, DroneShield, the DroneSentry has previously been tested by the Department of Homeland Security for its anti-drone preparedness. It uses integrated sensors to detect and disrupt drones that are moving at any speed. 

While the exact details of the trials on the M80 were not revealed, the company said that system was tested against a "wide variety" of robotic threats over a period of six weeks.

"The system demonstrated overall detection capability, detection and defeat ranges, on-the-move operation in various sea states, and effectiveness against drone swarms, involving a wide range of unmanned robotic threats," the press release read.

How does it work?

The compact device sitting in its octagonal shell can be mounted on any vehicle or a mast and can be controlled on-site or remotely. The device provides real-time situational awareness of drones around it which can be accessed by the operator through a mountable display that also has digital controls.  

Drone Sentry uses artificial intelligence to analyze radio frequencies in its environment and identify "non-friendly" drones. It offers non-kinetic jamming to overcome the limitations of cyber drone blocking methods. The drone blocking feature can be activated manually or set to automatically block all drones within a range of 1.2 miles (2 kilometers). 

The company's official document states that it has a disruption range of close to 1000 feet (300 meters), and the system can work in a wide range of temperatures ranging from -40 degrees Celsius (-40 degrees Fahrenheit) to 60 degrees Celsius (140 degrees Fahrenheit) and is UV resistant. 

Apart from the DroneSentry, which can be equipped on land or a sea vehicle, the US Air Force has also tested its Tactical High-power Operational Responder (THOR) system against drone swarms last month. 

H/T: The Drive