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from https://www.flightglobal.com/military-uavs/nato-exercise-practices-coordinating-defences-against-small-drones/146421.article

NATO exercise practices coordinating defences against small drones
Garrett ReimBy Garrett Reim15 November 2021
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NATO is working to coordinate the lower tier air defences of its members against hard-to-spot and difficult to shoot down small unmanned air
vehicles (UAVs).

The alliance organised an exercise from 2-12 November in Vredepeel, the Netherlands, to test ways allied nations can work together to defend
against small, exploding drones, it said on 11 November.

Counter UAV weapon c NATO
Source: NATO

There are many ways to down a UAV, but coordinating defences is essential

Small UAVs – sometimes hobby drones armed with improvised explosives –
are increasingly being used by combatants in the Middle East and
Ukraine. The drones are cheap, but hard to detect and shoot down because
of their small size, quiet electric motors and low-altitude flight.

“Malicious actors have made use of low-cost hobby drones in recent
years, creating a potential security threat to allies,” says Cristian
Coman, lead for counter-drone activities with the NATO Communications
and Information Agency. “The misuse of small drones represents a
significant and growing risk to operations and day-to-day defence
activities for NATO and nations.”

Russia has been accused of using quadcopter drones against Ukraine, for example, to coordinate artillery strikes and in one case drop a thermite grenade on an ammunition depot, which melted through the facility’s roof
and caused a massive explosion. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
has allegedly used small quadcopters to try to drop grenades on its
enemies in Syria and Iraq. Iran has allegedly used small explosive-laden
drones to attack Saudi Arabian oil facilities.

There are a variety of ways to down small UAVs, including using radio
control jamming, microwave weapons, lasers, automatic guns and small
missiles. Because there is a wide variety of drones to defend against, militaries increasingly are opting for an all-of-the-above approach,
which offers guarantees they will have the right weapon available during
an attack and creates a layered defence.

Soldier attempting to down a quadcopter using a counter-drone weapon c NATO

Source: NATO

Small UAVs are difficult to detect and down

However, coordinating many systems across NATO’s 30 member states is difficult. As part of recent exercises, more than 20 companies tested
about 70 different systems in order to increase technical
interoperability standards, says NATO.

The NATO Communications and Information Agency also brought a prototype
it had developed in-house called the ARTEMIS system to the exercises.
The system uses machine learning algorithms to detect and classify
drones based on their radio frequency signals. It can also determine the direction of a UAV and locate the person controlling the drone.

Detecting incoming drones is the first step in coordinating a defence.
As such, the ARTEMIS system “is an essential tool to help the agency understand the technology being used in the market and to identify areas
where NATO would benefit from developing standards around counter-[UAV] systems,” says Major General Goksel Sevindik, chief of staff at the NATO Communications and Information Agency.


Garrett Reim is a military aviation reporter based in Los Angeles. He
reports on military aircraft manufacturers and operators in North and
South America. Send him your confidential tips, press releases and story
ideas via garrett.reim@flightglobal.com. Follow him on Twitter via @garrettreim.

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