Counter Unmanned Aircraft Systems (C-UAS)

The Counter Unmanned Aircraft System (C-UAS) program is dedicated to safeguarding critical Naval assets from threats posed by unmanned aircraft systems. This initiative focuses on developing an integrated Family of Systems that employs advanced target discrimination and defeat capabilities. The program's objectives include refining material solutions, conducting threat assessments, and developing prototypes for integration. Additionally, it seeks to enhance open architecture solutions and interoperability standards in collaboration with the Joint C-UAS Office.

The DRAKE 2.0 C-UAS Afloat project is an Electronic Warfare Force Protection system designed to counter small UAS threats for naval forces at sea. This project involves upgrading existing systems with improved radios, processors, and display units using Commercial Off-The-Shelf hardware and software. Increment 1 focuses on refreshing core technology to enhance signal processing speed and bandwidth. Increment 2 aims to integrate the system with ships' Command and Control for improved situational awareness. The development of a new Control Display Unit is also included to enhance visual tracking and identification capabilities.

The Counter Unmanned Aircraft Systems project within this program emphasizes system development and integration to protect naval assets from surveillance or hostile threats. It supports management and technical efforts for system assessments, material solution refinement, and advanced target discrimination capabilities. The project also aims to improve interoperability between ashore and afloat systems by developing data fusion architecture for external sensor integration into a common Command and Control framework.

These initiatives are part of a broader strategy to leverage prior rapid development efforts while integrating layered defense capabilities against evolving threats. By maintaining commonality across current solutions and collaborating with JCO investments, the Navy seeks to enhance its ability to detect, identify, track, and defeat UAS threats effectively.