Defense Daily
Building on its successful ground-based mobile counter-drone capabilities with the Army, Leonardo DRS [DRS] recently successfully demonstrated these technologies aboard a small unmanned surface vessel (USV) in the open water for naval fleet protection, the company said on Tuesday.
The company conducted two demonstrations, the first a two-day proof-of-concept evaluation in early July near Norfolk, Va., of the company’s counter-unmanned aircraft system maritime mission equipment package (MEP) included its BlackLab passive radio frequency detection system, STAG electro-optic/infrared gimbal with advanced thermal cameras, a sensor fusion operating system, and artificial intelligence to support the fusion and target recognition based on the sensors.
The maritime MEP was able to detect, locate, and track a drone and provide the information to a land-based ground control system that simulated shipboard command and control system, a company spokesman told Defense Daily. The MEP also demonstrated counter-surface ship tracking.
A second demonstration in mid-July with a potential Navy customer took place in the Pacific Ocean near Camp Pendleton, Calif.
Future demonstrations will see more of the company’s technologies added to the MEP, such as radar, the spokesman said. Development of the MEP and the demonstration were internally funded and grew out of various customer meetings, he said.
The modular maritime MEP can also be equipped with electronic warfare systems, and kinetic and non-kinetic effectors, Leonardo DRS said.
“The U.S. Navy faces the same evolving drone threats as our land forces, and we recognize the urgency of delivering a reliable solution to protect the lives of sailors,” Cari Ossenfort, senior vice president and general manager of the Leonardo DRS Naval Electronics business unit, said in a statement. “By leveraging our proven expertise in mobile ground-based counter-UAS and short-range air defense systems, we have rapidly developed and demonstrated a maritime force protection capability that provides sailors with full-spectrum situational awareness and the tools to detect, track, and defeat threats at the tactical edge.”
The recent demonstrations also showcased Leonardo DRS’s rapid prototyping chops, going from concept to in the water in six months, the spokesman said.
Leonardo DRS integrates the Army’s Mobile-Low, Slow, Small Unmanned Aircraft Integrated Defeat System, called M-LIDS, that includes kinetic, electronic warfare, and related sensors on two Mine Resistant Ambush Protected All Terrain Vehicles to defeat Group 1, 2, and 3 drones at short ranges. The company also integrates the MEP for the Army’s SGT Stout short-range air defense platform.