The US military’s premier joint exercise to test countermeasures to protect against enemy unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) began on 29 July and run until 11 August at Naval Air Station Point Mugu in California.
Known as ‘Black Dart’, the exercise seeks to assess counter-UAS systems across the integrated air and missile defence kill chain in both littoral and maritime environments, according to a 2013 budget justification document.
The defence industry has begun to develop a variety of countermeasures to defeat UAS, such as systems that can jam the radio signal used to control the aircraft, as well as lasers that could shoot it down.
‘Black Dart’, an annual exercise started in 2010, aims to test the effectiveness of these various countermeasures.
Semco is among the companies participating in ‘Black Dart’ this year. Company officials said they will demonstrate the VDU-100MR, which enables the transmission of surveillance video over wireless and wired networks. At ‘Black Dart’, the system will operate with UAS, including DRS Technologies’ Sentry, GT Aeronautics’ Bandito, and Boeing/Insitu’s Scan Eagle.
Semco said the VDU-100MR will also operate with Northrop Grumman’s Shield laser system that creates a protective bubble around infrastructure by fending off threats with laser energy.
The video collected from these systems will be sent via the VDU-100MR to the ‘Black Dart’ ‘White Cell’ for observation, analysis, and recording, according to a Semco statement.
‘Black Dart’ is an important event because UAS are proliferating globally, and while the United States is the biggest user, this may not be the situation for long. Small, inexpensive UAS can also pose a serious challenge to US assets because they can go undetected by fast-moving aircraft, and because their radar cross-section is small enough that they could be missed by sensors.
Photo: Israel Defence Forces Shot Down an Unidentified UAS in October 2012 – Haaretz.com
Source: Jane’s